Prince Andrew’s ‘ugly’ house sold for £15m before move to Royal Lodge | Royal | News
Prince Andrew did not directly own Sunninghill Park, which was his official residence between 1990 and 2004. The 12-bedroom house was given to him as a wedding gift by the late Queen when he married Sarah Ferguson. Title documents show that Queen Elizabeth had a long lease on the property and appears to have granted Andrew the use of it at no charge.
As reported by TimesOwnership of Sunninghill Park was transferred for £12,500 to a trust controlled by the Queen’s closest financial advisers. In 2007, the trust sold the property to an offshore trust owned by a Kazakh billionaire for £15 million.
After falling into disrepair, the property was demolished in 2015 and a new, luxury home was built, but no one has lived in Andrew’s old house since the repairs – some residents described it as “ugly”.
The house in Sunninghill Park was demolished by Kulibayev, the billionaire son-in-law of then-Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, before being rebuilt.
The property is currently reported to be vacant, with the large iron gates at the entrance and metal shutters on the windows remaining closed. Five gardeners work on site to maintain the grounds, while a cleaning crew visits every month.
A neighbor told Mail: “I don’t blame the landlords for not wanting to live here because it’s so terrible. I heard it’s so luxurious inside, but what good is it if the outside is so disgusting?”
Another neighbor told the publication: “It’s very ugly and looks like a big supermarket in a shopping complex outside the city.
“It doesn’t fit in with the environment and has completely ruined the view of a gorgeous park.”
A third said: “It looks like a supermarket or a large affordable hotel. We’ve never seen or met the owner or his family and the only people coming or going are the staff.”
This description shows how Andrew lived in luxury for most of his adult life, thanks to his Crown Estate properties.
The former Duke of York, who lost his titles last week, continues to reside at Royal Lodge, a home owned by the Crown Estate on the grounds of Windsor Home Park.
Allegedly his youngest son Late Queen And Prince Philip He hasn’t paid the full rent on the Royal Lodge for over 20 years.
A copy of the Royal Lodge’s lease Obtained by The TimesIt revealed that Andrew had paid £1 million in rent plus at least £7.5 million in renovations (completed in 2005), but since 2003 he had only paid “one peppercorn (if requested)” a year.
Prince Andrew has been under increasing pressure and faced a series of scandals over his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; He reiterated in his statement: “I strongly deny the accusations against me.”
Last week, the Prince announced that he would no longer use his titles, including Duke of York, following “a meeting with the King”.
