Royal Lodge was not inspected once while Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lived there rent-free, it has been revealed.
The disgraced former royal’s lease for Royal Lodge revealed last year that Andrew had been paying “peppercorn rent” since 2003 on his Grade II 30-room mansion.
The lease included unique terms, which included not paying rent but instead a costly upfront refurbishment cost and an upkeep schedule.
He paid £8million to repair the property when he moved in, and agreed to allow inspectors in at “all reasonable times” to make sure the royal residence was looked after.
Royal Lodge was not inspected during Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease despite requirements in his lease to do so
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In return for meeting these agreements, his Crown Estate landlord, the independent company which manages Crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer, allowed him to pay no rent for the duration of his 75-year lease.
However, it has not been revealed by a freedom of information request that not one visit occurred during his 22-year tenancy.
His lease states that he must paint the interior of the property every seven years and maintain the good standard of the grounds and the gardens.
The strict rules specified that he was not able to alter Royal Lodge by adding new walls, fences, gates or windows.
The lease specified that Crown Estate officials had the right to enter the property to confirm the rules had been followed if they gave “reasonable notice”.
The lack of inspections was revealed in the freedom of information request by the Daily Mail, just a month after the chief executive of the Crown Estate wrote a briefing to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee stating inspections were carried out on a “need-only” basis.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also unable to make any changes to the historic mansion
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It revealed that it was “common industry practice” due to the fact that Andrew had the right to the quiet use and enjoyment of the property and the landlord’s reversion was several decades away.
It further explained that inspections are carried out only when needed to ensure the “effective use of public money”.
It is not yet known when Andrew will leave Royal Lodge, or where he will relocate to, however, when he does leave, he will not be in line for any financial settlement.
The Crown Estate has informed MPs that necessary repairs to the 30-room property will almost certainly cancel out any money owed to the former tenant.
Without the need for end-of-tenancy work, Andrew would have been due £488,342.21 upon vacating the residence on October 30 2026.
However, the estate body’s preliminary view suggests the cost of addressing dilapidations will effectively eliminate this potential payout when he surrenders the lease early.
The former Duke of York is set to lose out on almost £500,000 due repairs needed to Royal Lodge
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PAIn its briefing to parliamentarians, the Crown Estate stated: “Our initial assessment is that while the extent of end of tenancy dilapidations and repairs required are not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration, they will mean in all likelihood that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease once dilapidations are taken into account.”
The estate body cautioned that “before this position can be fully validated however, a full and thorough assessment must be undertaken post-occupation by an expert in dilapidation”.
GB News has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.