NAO Finds No Wrongdoing in Royal Housing Arrangements, First Review in 20 Years

The National Audit Office reported that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received undisclosed rental income from sub-letting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate that he leased from the Crown Estate. He sub-let the cottages until April 2026. The report is the first into royal residences in 20 years and was prompted by the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his family and staff had 12 properties owned by the Crown Estate or the Royal Household. He left Royal Lodge earlier this year and moved to Sandringham in Norfolk, but he still holds the lease on Royal Lodge until October 2026. The NAO report states there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The King pays the rent for accommodation in royal palaces for Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who are not working royals. Princess Eugenie has a property in Kensington Palace and Princess Beatrice has a property in St James's Palace, with rent paid by the privy purse, the monarch's personal money.

The report says the rent paid on these properties for non-working royals is meant to be 60% of the open market rate.

Princess Michael of Kent, another non-working royal, also has a property in Kensington Palace paid for by the privy purse. Kensington Palace and St James's Palace are maintained by public funding through the Sovereign Grant. A Palace source said the rent paid on these properties for non-working royals would cover any publicly-funded expenditure, so there would be no extra cost to the Sovereign Grant.

Eleven working royals have accommodation in the palaces without charge in exchange for their official duties. These include the King and Queen, the Princess Royal, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.