Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces losing Royal Lodge payout as MPs probe Crown Estate’s royal property deals

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing the prospect of being forced out of the Royal Lodge without a penny in compensation, after officials revealed the scale of repairs needed on the sprawling Windsor estate.

The disgraced former prince surrendered the lease as he prepares to relocate to the King’s Sandringham estate. He appears set to forfeit nearly £500,000 ($A1,000,000) following a Crown Estate assessment of the property’s condition.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s future at Royal Lodge has become entangled in a broader political storm, with MPs now demanding answers over the leases granted to senior royals.

The Public Accounts Committee, long regarded as the most powerful of Westminster’s select committees, has confirmed it will launch an inquiry into the Crown Estate’s arrangements after uproar over Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s unusually favourable rent deal.

The former prince secured a 75-year lease on the Grade II-listed mansion in 2003 for £1 million and has since paid only “one peppercorn” a year, if demanded.

The committee said it had pressed both the Treasury and the Crown Estate to explain whether the lease represented value for money for the taxpayer, given that Crown Estate profits are directed to public spending, The Mirror reported.

Today, it published a tranche of documents from Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad, shedding new light on the property deals granted to members of the royal family.

The papers show Mr Mountbatten-Windsor gave the required 12-month notice to surrender the Royal Lodge on October 30, meaning he could legally remain there until October 2025.

They also confirm that, had the property been in good condition, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor would have been entitled to £488,342.21 for ending the lease early in 2026.

However, following an inspection on November 12, the Crown Estate indicated that such a payout is “unlikely”.

It said: “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 organisation added that the final position would depend on “a full and thorough assessment” by an expert once Andrew vacates the property.

The same documents reveal that the committee intends to explore leases involving other senior royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales’ newly leased Forest Lodge. William and Kate hold a “20-year non-assignable lease… with open market rent”, in stark contrast to Andrew’s peppercorn agreement.

William reportedly approached the Crown Estate through the Royal Household to seek a suitable primary residence for his family.

Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said, “In publishing these responses, the Public Accounts Committee fulfils one of its primary purposes – to aid transparency in public-interest information… Having reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the beginnings of a basis for an inquiry.”

The Crown Estate said it “very much welcomes (s)” the scrutiny.

Chief executive Dan Labbad added, “We have provided detailed answers to the Committee’s questions to date and look forward to working with the NAO.”

The developing probe comes just weeks after the King formally stripped the former prince of his HRH status, prince title and dukedom following revelations about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Documents released in the US showed Mr Mountbatten-Windsor emailed Epstein in 2011 saying “we’re in this together”, despite previously claiming he had severed contact months earlier.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor denies all wrongdoing.