Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has paid the Crown Estate a net £1.5mn to terminate his lease on the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor, avoiding the prospect that the public body would have to pay him for moving out early. The Crown Estate assessed his liability for "dilapidations" at £1.8mn but owed him £302,000 in compensation for early termination, resulting in the net payment. The property in Windsor Great Park could now be leased to a non-royal after a review by the Crown Estate.
The payment ends the controversy over the terms of a 75-year lease awarded to Mountbatten-Windsor in 2003, under which he made a £1mn upfront payment, funded £7.5mn in renovations, paid no annual rent, and could rent out three properties. Critics including Dame Margaret Hodge suggested the deal was unduly generous. Mountbatten-Windsor was pressured into surrendering the lease in October last year as part of the royal family's effort to distance itself following revelations about his conduct related to Jeffrey Epstein.
He moved out to a cottage on the King's private Sandringham Estate in February. Both properties were searched by police investigating potential misconduct. Mountbatten-Windsor, stripped of his titles by King Charles III, denies wrongdoing.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing