Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s home in Windsor, Royal Lodge, was reportedly never inspected by Crown Estate officials in the 22 years he has lived there rent-free, it has been claimed. The former Duke of York will soon be vacating the Windsor property after he was stripped of his titles and banished from royal life due to his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew has been living in the 19th-century Grade-II listed building since 2004, a year after he was granted a 75-year lease agreement by the Crown Estate, which owns it. The lease agreement highlighted that he is required to “repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair and, where necessary, rebuild” the 30-bedroom mansion.
It also specified that the walls of the mansion must be repainted every five years “with two coats of paint”, while inside the house, the ex-duke was forced to “paper, polish, decorate and otherwise appropriately treat” every seven years, starting from 2010.
Included in the terms was an agreement over no rent, but an upfront refurbishment and upkeep schedule.
Andrew agreed to “permit the landlord [Crown Estate] and persons authorised by the landlord at all reasonable times upon reasonable notice to enter upon the premises to ascertain whether the tenant’s obligations herein have been complied with and to examine their state and condition and use and to take a plan or prepare a schedule of fixtures or a schedule of dilapidations and to make valuations.”
However, a new report by the Daily Mail claimed that Royal Lodge was not inspected by a Crown Estate official, not even once, in the 22 years that Andrew has been living there.
The shocking claim emerged after the outlet submitted its freedom of information request in December.
It came after the Crown Estate inspected Royal Lodge in November, following the King’s bold decision to axe Andrew of his titles and evict him from the Windsor mansion.
It was found that the ex-prince will unlikely get any compensation, estimated to be worth around £488,342.21 for breaking his lease early due to the property being so dilapidated and in need of repairs.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the outlet: “There is little doubt that the extraordinary absence of inspections of Royal Lodge, which under the terms of the lease could be periodically carried out, will be seen as yet another example of the sweetheart deal between the Crown Estate and Andrew.
“This revelation is all the more surprising when you consider the fact that Andrew has been involved in so many high-profile disasters in recent years, and still no one thought to inspect the condition of the property until recently.”