Peppercorns and properties: why MPs are investigating royal rents

MPs will put the Crown Estate under the microscope as questions fly over the renting arrangements of the royal family.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has announced an inquiry following the public outcry over the revelation that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor paid a mere “peppercorn rent” for more than 20 years for his vast Royal Lodge mansion at Windsor.

What are MPs looking into?

The Crown Estate, which MPs on the committee will investigate, is an independent commercial business that manages an extensive portfolio of land and developments owned by the monarch. It can trace its history back to the Norman conquest.

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The inquiry, which will begin in 2026, will consider leases given to members of the royal family, as well as wider work based on analysis of the estate’s annual accounts. “Having reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the beginnings of a basis for an inquiry”, said the PAC chair, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

Thanking the Treasury and Crown Estate for responding to initial questions, he said the MPs’ “overall” mission would be to “secure value for money for the taxpayer”.

What are royal rents?

Instead of paying annual rent for his “sprawling 30-room Windsor mansion”, Andrew made “large lump-sum payments up front”, including for renovations, and had a rental agreement described as a “peppercorn”, said the BBC. This meant a “small sum such as £1” can be paid every year on a long lease, as part of a legal arrangement between a tenant and the landlord. “In this case there was no payment at all.”

Andrew is expected to stay in Royal Lodge until the new year and the PAC found that that he’s unlikely to get any compensation for the lease ending early “once dilapidations are taken into account.” He will eventually move into an undisclosed residence on the King’s Sandringham Estate.

How much do royals pay?

Princess Alexandra’s rent arrangement for Thatched House Lodge in “sought-after” Richmond Park is “complicated” and “involves two leases”, said the Daily Mail. But “taken together” the paper suggested she pays “around £225 a month”.

According to the terms of Prince Edward’s lease extension, signed in 2007 with his company, Eclipse Nominees Limited, he paid £5 million up front for a lease of 150 years on his Surrey mansion, and pays only a peppercorn rent, said The Times.

Campaigners have “questioned” whether Edward, who is 15th in line to the throne, can “justify his occupation” of a property that could “otherwise” be leased by the Crown Estate for the benefit of taxpayers.

William and Kate reportedly pay “market rent” on Forest Lodge, Windsor, which is estimated to be between £32,000 and £100,000 a month, said the Daily Mail.