Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been awarded £302,000 in compensation after surrendering the lease on his former home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.
The former prince paid £1.8 million towards repairs and restoration at the 30-room property as the lease was returned more than 50 years ahead of schedule, the Crown Estate said.
He was entitled to compensation under the terms of the lease because it was surrendered within the first 25 years. A compensation clause had been included after Andrew paid £7.5 million for refurbishment work at the property in 2005.
In December 2025, the Crown Estate told MPs it did not believe Andrew would receive a payment once the costs of repairing and restoring Royal Lodge had been taken into account.
However, it said a full assessment of the property was required. In a letter to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, the Crown Estate said: “Before this position can be fully validated however, a full and thorough assessment must be undertaken post-occupation by an expert in dilapidation”.
Andrew moved out of Royal Lodge earlier in 2026, after files relating to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice. He moved into Marsh Farm on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk amid public criticism of the rent he paid for Royal Lodge.
In June, a National Audit Office investigation revealed that Andrew had received an undisclosed private income from subletting three cottages on the Royal Lodge estate while paying a peppercorn rent for more than two decades.
The Crown Estate said Royal Lodge would now be marketed by two nationally recognised agents for its proposed future use.
“The lease for Royal Lodge has ended and our focus now is firmly on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its early return,” a Crown Estate spokesperson said.
