The National Audit Office has disclosed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate, a new detail that adds a money trail to his former life at one of the monarchy’s most closely watched homes.
The report did not say how much he received. It did confirm that the cottages were on the Royal Lodge estate he leased from the Crown Estate, and that the arrangement allowed him to sub-let them until April 2026. Mountbatten-Windsor has since left Royal Lodge and moved to Sandringham in Norfolk, but he still holds the lease until October 2026.
The disclosure lands now because the watchdog’s report is not just about one property. It examines residential arrangements linked to members of the Royal Family and draws fresh attention to who pays for royal housing, who does not, and how the costs are split between public and private money. The Royal Household said it was grateful for the report and hoped it would help correct, clarify or contextualise points about royal properties.
That wider picture also includes Princess Eugenie, who has a property in Kensington Palace, and Princess Beatrice, who has a property in St James’s Palace. Neither princess pays rent for their central London accommodation. Instead, the rent is paid by the privy purse to the Royal Household, while both palaces are maintained through public funding via the Sovereign Grant. The report also noted that the King pays the rent for their accommodation.
What remains unclear is the scale of the income Mountbatten-Windsor took in from the three cottages. The report gives the existence of the rental stream, the lease terms and the dates, but not the figure, leaving one part of the financial picture still hidden even as the rest of the arrangement comes into view.
The reported that Mountbatten-Windsor paid £7.5m for repairs when he took on the Royal Lodge lease and did not have to pay a monthly rent after that. That detail helps explain why the estate remained an unusually favourable arrangement for years, even as the report shows he was able to generate income from the property by sub-letting three of its cottages. Palace sources previously suggested the property may have been rented to staff or retired staff.
For Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, both of whom are not working royals, the report reinforces a separate reality: their accommodation in two of London’s best-known royal palaces is still funded through the monarch’s personal money, while the buildings themselves rely on public support. For Mountbatten-Windsor, the outstanding question is narrower and more pointed. The watchdog has now confirmed that he earned rental income from Royal Lodge. It has not said how much.
