Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faced a £1.8m bill to cover repair and restoration of his former Royal Lodge home in Windsor after the lease was officially surrendered.
But the former prince was granted £302,000 in compensation for giving up the lease early on the 98-acre property, meaning his total costs came to £1.5m.
Standard lease exit process
Recouping costs for dilapidations is a standard process when exiting a lease, and the Guardian understands the repairs covered the entire estate, which includes several properties, gardens and large outbuildings.
Andrew was entitled to compensation because, as per the terms of his lease, he surrendered it within the first 25 years.
The Times reported that King Charles had contributed to the repair costs.
Crown Estate response
The crown estate spokesperson said: “The lease for Royal Lodge has ended and our focus now is firmly on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its early return.”
The former Duke of York moved out of the Windsor mansion this year as the US Department of Justice released files related to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He was forced to move into Marsh Farm on the king’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk amid public outcry about the rent he paid on the Royal Lodge.
Legal challenges and income details
In June, a National Audit Office investigation revealed that the late queen’s second son received an unknown amount of private income from subletting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent – a small, symbolic payment – for more than two decades.
The crown estate spokesperson said the property would now be marketed by two nationally recognised agents for its proposed future use.
On Thursday, Mountbatten-Windsor won a legal challenge against Thames Valley police over search warrants used to raid his home. The former prince brought a judicial review of the legality of the force’s actions and those of the central criminal court, which granted the warrants.
Mr Justice Hilliard, sitting at the high court in central London, said Thames Valley police (TVP) had conceded that it obtained the search powers under the wrong statutory provision and ruled that the warrants were unlawful.
Arrest and ongoing implications
The episode is embarrassing for TVP but police believe it will not affect the success of the investigation.
The arrest followed information that emerged from the Epstein files. It was alleged that when Mountbatten-Windsor was the UK’s trade envoy he shared sensitive information with Epstein. Police began searching the former duke’s residence on the Sandringham estate and the Royal Lodge on the same day as his arrest. Documentary material and electronic devices were seized.
Late last year, King Charles stripped his brother of his right to be a prince and of his dukedom over his association with Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor receives an annual stipend, the amount of which has not been disclosed, from King Charles’s private funds, but a palace source told reporters it had been made clear this should not be used to fund the judicial review.
