Prince Andrew living rent-free at Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Castle estate for 20 years

Royal pariah Prince Andrew has not paid rent on his 30-room Royal Lodge mansion for two decades thanks to a sweet lease deal that helped him beat a bid by King Charles to kick him out, it has been revealed.

The lavish property that he shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is in the heart of Windsor Great Park and was previously home to the Queen Mother until her death.

The 65-year-old prince paid £1 million ($2 million) for the lease which entitles him and his family to live there until 2078 but has paid just “one peppercorn (if demanded)” per year since 2003, according to a leasehold agreement cited by The Times.

On top of the lease, he paid at least £7.5 ($15m) for refurbishments in 2005.

If he were forced to give up the estate, a clause in the lease agreement could see him paid out £558,000 ($1.1m) by the Crown Estate and a “compensatory sum” of £185,865 ($382,000) until 2028.

The King’s younger brother has been mired in controversy over his links to notorious paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein for years.

Over the weekend he announced he would relinquish his remaining titles and honours, including the Duke of York, ahead of the publication of a new book about the Epstein scandal written by alleged victim Virginia Giuffre.

It was the latest degrading sign of his fall from grace after Andrew stepped down from public life in 2019 following a disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in which he said he “did not regret” his friendship with Epstein, who had trafficked Giuffre.

He later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Giuffre, a woman he claimed never to have met.

Giuffre’s family welcomed news of Andrew giving up his remaining titles but said the King should go a step further and strip him of his “prince” title, too.

Prince Andrew has always denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

Andrew had been locked in a bitter standoff with King Charles over the royal residence for years, with the monarch pressuring him to move out and into Prince Harry and Meghan’s far more humble old digs the four-bedroom Frogmore Cottage.

At one point, the Royal Lodge, set on 40ha on the Windsor Castle estate, had been in contention as a new home for Prince William and Kate and their three children but Andrew’s refusal to budge put paid to that plan, with the king forced to back off on his eviction plan given the lease gave him the right to stay.

But questions continue to swirl over how the prince can afford to stay at the Lodge, given the King cut him off from his £1m annual allowance in late 2024 and pulled funding for his estimated £3m security bill.

Queen Elizabeth’s will has never been made public but it is believed Andrew was not left enough to fund his lavish lifestyle.

The Prince’s only declared income is a £20,000 naval pension.