The British royal family prefers to live in castles and mansions, and the maintenance of the spacious property is often very expensive. So does Prince Andrew, who has lived in the Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor Castle since 2003. So far, Prince Andrew has received an annual grant of £250,000 from the UK fortune. This should now be over, but the prince apparently does not want to move out of the Royal Lodge.
Prince Andrew, like every common man, has a valid lease. This stipulates that the Royal Lodge can be rented from the prince at £250 per week. The British news portal “The Mirror” reports that Prince Andrew does not want to give up this lease without a fight. The lease runs for 75 years and can even be transferred to his daughters Princess Eugenie and Beatrice. Over the past twenty years it has invested around £7.5m in refurbishment.
The investments were a kind of deal with the royal family. This stipulated that Prince Andrew would have to undertake renovation work of up to £5 million, but as the work exceeded this sum by half, it was agreed that the prince would not have to pay any rent for the time being. Should he have to leave the property before a deadline of 25 years, i.e. the year 2028, he is entitled to compensation from the Crown for the renovation costs. After 25 years, Prince Andrew should get nothing more.
A source told The Mirror of a possible move: “He said he’s not going, there’s no chance that’s going to happen and even if the king wanted that, how would that work? If the king wants millions to spend to give him back the money he’s already invested in the property, that’s another matter.”
But without the annual Royal Allowance, maintaining the 100 acres of land housing the Royal Lodge, Gardener’s Cottage, Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages and Police Safe Shelters is difficult.
Prince Andrew has resigned or been removed from all official royal offices following allegations by Virginia Giuffre in 2019 that he had sexually abused her when she was a minor. As this removes him from being a working member of the royal family, he is likely to be high on the list of the king’s austerity plans.
Sources: Daily Mail, Wikipedia, Mirror
