Real reason King Charles could ‘regret’ kicking Andrew out of Royal Lodge | Royal | News
King Charles made the bold decision earlier this year to force his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to move out of his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. But one royal commentator suggested it could be a decision the monarch would one day regret.
The 30-room mansion, which Andrew has shared with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson since 2008, has been the subject of huge controversy in recent weeks after it was revealed he had been paying only a “peppercorn” amount of rent for several years. This revelation sparked a huge outcry over the Royal Family’s finances and the details of their leases with the Crown Estate; So much so that the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee launched an investigation. A former advisor to King Charles said: Richard Kay, Daily Mail’s Editor-at-Large: “Seeing what the King can do with a swipe of his malfunctioning pen has emboldened critics who want to shake up the entire royal system. They feel the fragility.”
As details of the scandal have now expanded to include leases of other members of the Royal Family, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said: “The Crown Estate includes a wealth of properties but most of us aren’t aware of exactly what’s there and few of us have ever cared to ask.”
“That has now changed, which means it opens the door to a lot of problems for Andrew’s family and their lifestyle.” The Times.
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will investigate the terms of other royal properties owned by the Crown Estate.
Any profits from the Crown Estate, which manages the monarch’s hereditary assets, are given to the Treasury in exchange for money that funds the Royal Family’s public affairs, otherwise known as the Sovereign Grant.
Among those whose leases were examined were Crown Estate II since 1963. There’s also Princess Alexandra, the late Queen Elizabeth’s older cousin, who lives at the grade-listed Thatched House Lodge.
She pays just £225 a month to live in the house in Richmond Park; This is well below the average rent for a house with six bedrooms and six reception rooms in London.
But supporters say the slim 88-year-old man has devoted most of his life to charity work and attending events on behalf of the Royal Family.
Several other members of the Royal Family, including Prince William and Princess Catherine, live in Windsor, but they insist on paying market-rate rent for their new home, Forest Lodge, which is said to cost more than £15,000 a month.
