The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) announced an official inquiry into the Royal Family's Crown Estate properties following the controversies involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the 'peppercorn rent' he paid annually at Royal Lodge.
The probe will look into the properties' value for money to British taxpayers.
What PAC Wants to Know
The committee's MPs are challenging the Crown Estate to provide the details in making sure that it gets good value for the fallen prince's royal accommodation. Moutbatten-Windsor and his family have stayed at the luxurious 30-bedroom home inside a 98-acre pristine lot in Windsor Great Park almost rent-free since 2004.
The troubled former royal pays 'one peppercorn (if demanded) per annum' based on his lease, according to The Daily Mail.
Since the Royal Lodge was being leased from the Crown Estate, all the profits should be returned to the British government for public spending.
PAC sent a demand for explanation to the Crown Estate regarding Mountbatten-Windsor's living arrangements in October, due to all the allegations about him in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Part of their letter said, 'There is considerable and understandable public interest in the spending of public money in relation to Prince Andrew, which in part stems from the fact that he is no longer a working royal, and from serious and disturbing allegations made against him.'
The committee also wants an explanation about why the former prince continues to live at the property, even if he is no longer a working member of the Royal family.
PAC published the replies from the Crown Estate and the Treasury on Tuesday, 2 December, and revealed their next steps.
'Having reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the beginnings of a basis for an inquiry,' Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown stated. 'We now await the conclusions the National Audit Office will draw from this information, and plan to hold an inquiry based on the resulting evidence base in the new year.'
No Refund for the Former Prince
The BBC reported that part of Mountbatten-Windsor's lease agreement stated that he would be entitled to get £488,000 for a premature surrender of his 75-year lease.
But the Crown Estate told PAC that due to the current state of the property, which is already dilapidated and in need of repairs, King Charles III's younger brother 'will not be owed any compensation.'
Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of all his royal titles and duties since October due to all the scandals and sexual abuse allegations connected to the Epstein case. He also lost the right to live in the royal property after losing his titles.
PAC is planning to start the inquiry about Crown Estate's properties in 2026 to look into the leases of the Royal family.
However, it is still unconfirmed if Mountbatten-Windsor will be summoned to explain his side and submit evidence regarding his compensation claim over his former accommodation.
The fallen prince and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, are expected to move into a smaller accommodation in Sandringham, the private estate of King Charles in Norfolk, after the Christmas holidays.
