Overview
- Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee wrote to the Crown Estate and the Treasury seeking the rationale for Prince Andrew’s lease and its public value, setting a 28 November response date.
- Lease documents show Andrew paid £1 million for a 75‑year term in 2003, funded about £7.5 million of refurbishments, and owes only “one peppercorn, if demanded” in annual rent, with compensation due of around £558,000 if he surrenders the lease.
- The Crown Estate has released Andrew’s lease but not an unredacted version of Prince Edward’s; NAO records indicate Edward paid market rent for Bagshot Park until at least 2007, with key terms after his lease extension redacted.
- Palace discussions over Andrew leaving Royal Lodge continue, with reports of offers including Frogmore Cottage for him and Adelaide Cottage for Sarah Ferguson, though no agreement has been confirmed.
- New reporting that Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein at Royal Lodge in 2006 has intensified pressure, while the Treasury says the Crown Estate operates independently and will respond to MPs.