LONDON (Agencies) — Disgraced former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing a fresh wave of public backlash and political scrutiny following a damning transparency report. Released on Friday by the National Audit Office (NAO), the U.K.’s public spending watchdog, the document exposes controversial housing subsidies and private income loops within the royal family’s properties.
Subletting Secrets Exposed
The investigation into the royal family’s residences revealed that Andrew spent more than two decades pocketing private income by subletting three cottages located on his Royal Lodge estate near Windsor Castle.
While Andrew paid only a symbolic, nominal fee known as a “peppercorn rent” for the sprawling 30-room mansion, he used the premises to generate personal revenue. Shockingly, the exact amount of rental income he collected was completely omitted from the spending watchdog’s summary.
> “It’s shocking that the National Audit Office was not able to establish how much money Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor secured from the properties he let,” remarked Margaret Hodge, a Labour member of the House of Lords and former head of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
Extended Backlash Over Palace Privileges
The audit has fueled broader outrage regarding how non-working royals leverage public and private crown assets:
* The Daughters’ Rents: The report disclosed that Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are living in heavily rent-controlled palace properties.
* The King’s Subsidy:Because neither sister serves as a “working royal,” their discounted rents—ranging from 50% to 68% of open-market values—are paid entirely by their uncle, King Charles III, out of his private Privy Purse funds.
Taxpayer Contempt: Critics argue the family is exploiting systemic financial loopholes. Former Liberal Democrat lawmaker Norman Baker slammed the findings, stating they show an “absolute total contempt for the taxpayer.”
Expanding Legal Investigations
This financial revelation arrives at the worst possible time for the 66-year-old former prince. Banishment from public life and his subsequent eviction from Royal Lodge to the Sandringham Estate followed massive fallout over his ties to deceased billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
British police are currently spearheading an active investigation into claims that Andrew transmitted highly confidential trade information to Epstein while serving as a U.K. trade envoy from 2001 to 2011. Following his arrest and interrogation by police in February, detectives warned that they are prepared to broaden their inquiry into wider allegations of sexual misconduct as more witnesses are urged to step forward.
