LONDON — The National Audit Office released a report on June 5, 2026, detailing property arrangements for members of the royal family. The report reviewed property agreements between the royal family, the Royal Household, and the Crown Estate.
The audit office did not assess whether these property agreements offered good value to taxpayers. A palace spokesperson said, "We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualize a number of points regarding royal properties."
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor held leases for 10 properties and sublet three of them. In 2003, he secured a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge, making a 1 million pound upfront payment and completing £7.5 million in renovations. He pays a nominal annual rent for Royal Lodge and eight cottages on the estate, and collected rental income from three sublet cottages until April. The Crown Estate and the audit office do not maintain records of this rental income. King Charles required Mountbatten-Windsor to vacate Royal Lodge. Charles removed all titles from Mountbatten-Windsor following his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor pays £12,922 annually to lease Sunninghill Park in Windsor, with its lease set to terminate in July 2027. Charles pays rent for the residences occupied by Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, the daughters of Mountbatten-Windsor. This rent, along with that of the Duke of Kent, is set at 60 percent of the market rate, though payments do not consistently match this valuation. Charles uses funds from the Privy Purse to cover these rent payments. The Royal Household provides seven residences at Kensington Palace and St James's Palace without cost to royals performing official duties.
The Public Accounts Committee announced an inquiry into royal property leases in December. The Crown Estate operates independently from the government and directs its profits to the Treasury. Properties managed by the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, as well as the King's private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral Castle, were excluded from the audit office report.
No independent assessment was available for this report.