A new report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has detailed how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor earned money by subletting properties within the Crown Estate. The findings, shared via a letter from the King's Treasurer, highlight a pattern of rental income involving cottages once under his control.

The £2,000 monthly income from three sublet cottages

The financial specifics of these arrangements include a monthly income of just over £2,000, generated from subletting three cottages starting in late 2021.. According to the report, this income was recorded for an undisclosed period of less than one year and was calculated before accounting for maintenance and other expenses.

Beyond this recent period, the report also notes a long-term arrangement involving a single cottage.. For most of a 22-year tenancy, the former Duke of York sublet this property at a below-market rate to an in-situ tenant who was employed by the royal family. As the report states, these details were provided by James Chalmers, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, in the interest of transparency.

King Charles’s £1.5 million investment in Royal Lodge repairs

The Crown Estate, which manages an independent £17 billion portfolio of land and seabed, is the entity at the center of these leasing discussions. while the monarch holds the estate "in right of the Crown," it is not his private property, and he does not personally manage its assets or make individual leasing decisions.

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The financial complexities of the Royal Lodge are further highlighted by the fact that King Charles privately paid £1.5 million to cover the mansion’s repair and restoration costs. this payment to the Crown Estate followed a process where £302,000 in compensation was deducted from a total £1.8 million bill after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor gave up his lease early.

The missing data on two decades of subletting profits

Significant questions remain regarding the total amount of money generated through these property arrangements over the long term. while the PAC has uncovered recent figures, the report notes that the total subletting income received by the former Prince over the past twenty years was not disclosed and cannot be accurately calculated from the current information.

The committee has also raised concerns about the Crown Estate's transparency regarding its oversight of these leases. The PAC described the Estate as "reluctant" to discuss specific lessons learned from the Royal Lodge arrangement, prompting the committee to recommend that the Crown Estate should implement a standard provision in future leases to prohibit subletting unless specifically agreed upon by the landlord .