NAO Report Confirms Royal Property Leases Followed Independent Valuations and Open Market Terms

The National Audit Office published a report on Friday that details lease arrangements for several royal properties, including income Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received from subletting three cottages on his Windsor Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent to the Crown Estate. 4 hectares. They pay £307,200 rent a year, reviewed every five years, and paid no upfront premium.

The Crown Estate carried out £400,000 repairs before William and Catherine moved into the property with their three young children last year. They are responsible for internal refurbishments and alterations. The NAO also found that King Charles pays an adjusted rent from his private Duchy of Lancaster income, below open market value, for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to live in royal palaces.

Margaret Hodge, who chaired the public accounts committee from 2010 to 2015, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that it was shocking the National Audit Office had not established how much money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor made from letting properties.

She said she was very concerned that the NAO was not able to find out the amount. Hodge stated: “We all want a royal family to be continued to be respected, valued and treasured.

Hodge said the report did not cover all Crown Estate properties and questioned whether it was appropriate for non-working royals such as Beatrice, Eugenie, and the Kents to be subsidised by not paying rent. ” A public outcry occurred in October after it emerged that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was paying a peppercorn rent on Royal Lodge, the Windsor mansion from which he was eventually evicted by the king.

The NAO report will form the basis of the Commons public accounts committee’s inquiry into royal properties.

A Crown Estate spokesperson said: “The crown estate welcomes the National Audit Office’s review, which confirms its leases with members of the royal family were agreed in line with independent, professional advice and open market valuations. ” A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is in line with the royal household’s commitment to transparency.

We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties.