Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was making more than £2,000 a month by subletting cottages in the grounds of Royal Lodge, the King’s accountant has revealed.
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accountant → make → Lodge
The disgraced former prince not only lived on the Windsor estate for free but profited by renting the three extra properties privately.
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prince → live → properties
It comes as the government’s spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), criticised the royals for allowing ten members of the family – including three described as ‘non-working’ – to live in properties on the Crown Estate for little or no rent.
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members → come → rent
Questions about the three cottages at Royal Lodge arose in July.
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Questions → arise → July
Now James Chalmers, treasurer to the King, has discovered Andrew was raking in thousands per month from them.
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Andrew → discover → them
Last night, campaigners called on the exiled royal to return the money he made to the Crown Estate.
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he → call → Estate
Former MP Norman Baker, an expert on royal finances, described Andrew’s arrangement as ‘scurrilous’ and an example of his ‘unashamed greed’.
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Baker → describe → greed
‘It was bad enough that he was living at Royal Lodge on a peppercorn rent,’ he said.
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he → live → rent
‘Now we find out he was actually making thousands in profit from the property.
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he → find → property
I think many people would like that sort of arrangement in their lives.
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people → think → lives
‘It’s absolutely scurrilous and the Crown Estate should never have allowed it to occur.
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it → ’ → ?
Andrew should pay back any money he received from that rent.
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he → pay → rent
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was making more than £2,000 a month by subletting cottages in the grounds of Royal Lodge, the King’s accountant has revealed
The disgraced former prince not only lived on the Windsor estate (pictured) for free but profited by renting the three extra properties privately
‘
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prince → make → properties
It’s disgraceful, but that was Andrew all over – very keen to get whatever he could for nothing and maximise his personal income.
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he → ’ → income
It’s just another example of his unashamed greed.’
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It → ’ → greed
Andrew was evicted from Royal Lodge in February following intense scrutiny of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
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Andrew → evict → Epstein
In July, it emerged the former prince had received an undisclosed income from sub-letting three cottages on the estate.
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prince → emerge → estate
The PAC asked Buckingham Palace how much Andrew was making from the properties.
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Andrew → ask → properties
In a newly published letter to Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chairman of the spending watchdog, Mr Chalmers explained that Andrew’s income had been unknown to the Royal Household.
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income → publish → Household
However, he said he had made inquiries with Andrew and was ‘sharing [the information] in the interests of transparency and openness’.
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he → say → transparency
He revealed that for most of his tenancy, Andrew had not sublet all three cottages at the same time, but this changed in 2021.
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this → reveal → 2021
‘This generated a combined income, before maintenance and general expenses, of just over £2,000 per month,’ he wrote.
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he → generate → month
Baroness Margaret Hodge, former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said it was ‘shocking’ the figures had not been declared earlier.
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figures → say → Committee
‘I want a Royal Family, but in a modern era that does require proper transparency,’ she said.
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she → want → transparency
‘The Crown Estate is taxpayers’ money, it’s not theirs, and whoever runs it has to ensure the taxpayers’ interest.’
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runs → ’ → interest
Meanwhile, a PAC inquiry into the Crown Estate sparked by the questions over Royal Lodge found that members of the Royal Family have been paying ‘inconsistent rents’ based on ‘outdated residential property valuations’.
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members → spark → valuations
As of May, seven properties were being occupied by working members of the family at no charge, and three by non-working members ‘at an adjusted rate’ – typically 60 per cent of market value.
The Crown Estate manages a portfolio of £14.5billion of land, property and seabed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including 255 residential properties across the occupied royal palaces estate.
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Estate → occupy → estate
The committee advised the Crown Estate to review its rental agreements to ensure proper value for taxpayers’ money.
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committee → advise → money
Sir Geoffrey said: ‘The Crown Estate returns its net profits to the Treasury to fund public services.
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Estate → say → services
Questions have arisen in our scrutiny as to how it makes its trade-offs between these profits and its duties to the environment and social value.
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it → arise → environment
I am hopeful that our recommendations will be pushing at an open door.’
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recommendations → push → door
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