Andrew was sub-letting Royal Lodge cottages, watchdog reveals

Prince Andrew received rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate, according to a report by the public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO).

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in line with the Royal Household's commitment to transparency

The NAO report, the first into royal residences in two decades, also revealed that King Charles III covers the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Andrew's daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not considered working royals.

Andrew, who leased the properties from the Crown Estate, had the right to sub-let the cottages until April 2026. The report does not specify the amount of rental income he received, but palace sources suggest it was only enough to cover running costs and was paid directly to him.

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outrageous to subsidise luxury accommodation in this way and that the public was 'being taken for a ride'.

Princess Eugenie resides in a property at Kensington Palace, and Princess Beatrice at St James's Palace. While these central London accommodations are maintained by public funding through the Sovereign Grant, the rent is paid by the monarch's personal funds via the "privy purse" to the Royal Household. A Palace source stated that this arrangement ensures no extra cost to the Sovereign Grant, as the rent paid covers any publicly-funded expenditure. However, a former government minister criticized the practice as "outrageous" and a subsidy for luxury accommodation.

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deference is wearing thin indeed