It previously emerged that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was only paying a peppercorn rent for his Royal Lodge home before being told to leave – and now it seems another royal also has a favourable rent deal
A second royal is reportedly paying just a peppercorn rent for their mansion in a similar deal to that of disgraced former prince Andrew, it has emerged.
Prince Edward, who is now the Duke of Edinburgh, lives at the huge 120-room Bagshot Park in Surrey with his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
The late Queen’s youngest son reportedly leased the Crown Estate home for 50 years in March 1998 for ÂŁ50,000 per year, which rose to ÂŁ90,000 per year after he paid ÂŁ1.36million for renovations. It is believed his lease was extended in 2007 under a deal signed with this company, Eclipse Nominees Limited.
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The Times now reports that he paid ÂŁ5million upfront for a lease of 150 years – but now only pays a peppercorn rent. The newspaper also reports that there are also no conditions on any future sale of Edward’s lease – only that the new tenant must be able to pay for the upkeep of the vast property’s maintenance.
It means that Edward has a similar deal for his property to the one his brother Andrew held for his home Royal Lodge, which he is set to leave in the New Year.
Andrew paid ÂŁ1million to secure a 75-year lease for the Windsor mansion in 2003 – and was required to pay one peppercorn’ in rent per year, ‘if demanded’.
However, unlike Andrew, Edward and his wife Sophie are working members of the Royal Family travelling around the UK and abroad to represent the King and support charities. It comes as reports suggest that eviction from Royal Lodge looks set to be delayed – due to a reported downsizing struggle.
After being stripped of all of his titles last month over his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, the former prince was also forced to give up his 30-room Royal Lodge mansion. He will be moving to a much smaller property on the King’s private Sandringham estate without his former wife, Sarah Ferguson.
At the time, it was said the move to an unknown house in Norfolk would take place as soon as practically possible, with reports suggesting this would be sometime in the new year.
However, according to The Sun, the move could actually be delayed until February as moving out of such a grand home into a smaller one would take time, and it is unclear if his new home would be ready.
A source said: “He has a large house where he has lived for a long time and he will be moving into a more modest house so, logically, it won’t happen this side of Christmas.”
The hold-up in the former Duke of York’s move means that this year, he will have one final Christmas in his mansion. Sources say it is a welcome relief to the Royal Family because it keeps Andrew away from Sandringham during the festive season, when most of the senior royals are in residence. This situation would have been “suboptimal” and “quite awkward,” insiders believe.
