Together with his £1m royal allowance withdrawn final 12 months, Prince Andrew faces questions over how he funds his £3m safety and 30-bedroom Windsor mansion. ITV Information Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen studies
Phrases by ITV Information Producer Jamel Smith
Renewed allegations in Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, which hyperlink Prince Andrew to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, have deepened the royal’s ongoing disaster.
The scrutiny of his funds and his means to proceed dwelling on the Royal Lodge in Windsor Nice Park has intensified in current days.
The King lower Andrew’s £1 million annual royal allowance final 12 months, leaving him with solely a £20,000 naval pension as declared revenue.
Questions have arisen over how he pays for the maintenance of his 30-bedroom mansion and his estimated £3 million-a-year safety invoice.
ITV Information explains what we find out about Prince Andrew’s funds.
ITV Information Political Editor Robert Peston have a look at whether or not the shifting public perspective in opposition to Andrew may develop into an issue for Downing Avenue
How can Prince Andrew afford to pay for the Royal Lodge?
Prince Andrew is beneath renewed stress after a replica of the Royal Lodge lease, launched on Tuesday, confirmed he has paid solely a “peppercorn hire” for his Windsor mansion for greater than 20 years.
Senior politicians and campaigners are questioning why the general public could also be lacking out on potential income from the property.
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What does the lease reveal?
The lease reveals Andrew signed a 75-year settlement for Royal Lodge in 2003.
It reveals he paid £1 million for the lease and has since paid solely “one peppercorn” in hire per 12 months, “if demanded”.
He was additionally required to spend £7.5 million on refurbishments, accomplished in 2005, in line with a Nationwide Audit Workplace report.
The small quantity of hire helps clarify how Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have been in a position to reside there with out utilizing royal funds.
It was beforehand thought that Andrew paid a “notional hire” of £260,000 per 12 months along with the refurbishments.
The lease confirms that this hire solely utilized if the work was not accomplished, which was completed in 2005.
Unfold over 75 years, the £8.5 million preliminary outlay averages £113,000 a 12 months, lower than half the estimated market hire.
Composite picture of Prince Andrew’s lease issued by The Crown Property. Credit score: PA
Why is Andrew’s personal residence of public concern?
Andrew’s lease features a clause requiring the Crown Property, which oversees the royal household’s land and property holdings, to pay him round £558,000 if he provides up the property.
Income from the Crown Property go to the Treasury, elevating considerations that the general public might be lacking out on potential income from the Royal Lodge as a result of Andrew’s peppercorn hire.
MPs on the Commons Treasury Committee and Public Accounts Committee might examine how the Crown Property has managed the lease.
However Downing Avenue stated that in line with the 2005 Nationwide Audit Workplace report, the general public spending watchdog had not raised considerations concerning the Royal Lodge preparations.
A No 10 spokesman stated: “The Nationwide Audit Workplace reviewed the lease preparations for Royal Lodge in 2005. And in its report, which was revealed at the moment, concluded that the Crown Property doesn’t have any particular procedures when negotiating agreements with the royal household.
“An impartial analysis concluded that the transaction with Prince Andrew and Royal Lodge was acceptable.”
Andrew and his household are entitled to reside at Royal Lodge on the Windsor Property till 2078.
The property was beforehand occupied by the Queen Mom, and Andrew moved in after her dying.
The King and Prince Andrew on the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. Credit score: PA
What are politicians saying?
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick stated Andrew ought to “take himself off to reside in personal” and cease counting on public funds.
“It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to reside in personal and make his personal means in life,” he stated
“He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal household repeatedly.
“I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, ought to proceed to foot the invoice in any respect. The general public are sick of him.”
Liberal Democrat Cupboard Workplace spokesperson Lisa Sensible stated Andrew ought to “present contrition” by “returning each penny” of unpaid hire.
“Andrew has failed our King and Royal Household and betrayed the values of the British individuals,” she stated.
“The longer this complete sorry saga goes on, the extra his presence in public life is an insult and more and more a humiliation.
“He ought to present some contrition by returning each penny of hire that he isn’t paid whereas disgracing his workplace.”
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The place is his cash coming from?
Whereas his low-cost hire helps clarify how Andrew has been in a position to afford Royal Lodge, questions nonetheless stay over how he covers his estimated £3 million-a-year safety invoice.
So the place does his cash come from?
Some sources estimate his internet price at round $5 million (£1.5 million), constructed via numerous investments.
He has maintained monetary stability via worldwide investments and enterprise connections, enabling him to maintain a lavish life-style.
His personal investments embody business dealings with China and the Gulf States, in addition to a now-suspended partnership with Dutch start-up Startupbootcamp via his firm, Pitch@Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew at Westminster Abbey in 2022. Credit score: PA
He additionally earned cash from the 2007 sale of his 12-bedroom Sunninghill Park residence close to Windsor Fortress for £15 million, £3 million above the asking value.
The home was gifted to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II as a marriage current and was offered to Timor Kulibayev, son-in-law of the then-president of Kazakhstan.
The sale drew scrutiny for its inflated value and international connections, and the property remained vacant and deteriorating for greater than a decade.
Nonetheless, the deal supplied Andrew together with his largest recognized money infusion, which seems to have funded a lot of his later spending.
That is the Speaking Royals – our weekly podcast concerning the royal household, with ITV Information Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson.
