Prince Andrew has been living at his historic Windsor estate, Royal Lodge, since 2004, and per a lease obtained by The Times on October 21, he hasn't paid rent since then. Andrew, who lives at Royal Lodge with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, is also entitled to stay at the property until 2078, the lease revealed. Speaking to Hello! magazine's "Right Royal Podcast," historian Andrew Lownie weighed in on what it would take for Prince Andrew to leave his home—and the author thinks it comes down to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, told the podcast that Prince Andrew "has this ironclad lease, as long as he maintains the terms of that lease." These terms include Andrew carrying out necessary maintenance on the property, which Robin Edwards, a property buying agent at Curetons, previously told Marie Claire could cost the royal up to $6 million per year.
On October 17, Prince Andrew announced he would no longer use his Duke of York title after discussions with the King—a move to distance the monarchy from his scandals surrounding late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. With calls growing for Andrew to vacate Royal Lodge following the release of his accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Lownie said worries over how the fallout impacts Beatrice and Eugenie could be the "only pressure" that pushes Andrew out.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie both work full-time jobs outside of the Royal Family and serve as patrons of numerous organizations. Lownie said "how his daughters are treated" just "might" convince Andrew to leave Royal Lodge "if the screws are put on to them, in terms of their future."
"The only way I think he can go is to voluntarily go," Lownie told the podcast. "The optics look terrible for a non-working royal in a 30-room mansion."
Referencing Andrew's statement about giving up his title to "put my duty to my family and country first," Lownie added, "And he, of course, is an honorable man and he always puts the country and the monarchy first, so I hope he will do the right thing."
Even if Prince Andrew does move out, he'd be compensated around $746,000 to do so. Per the Times, the royal's lease "includes a clause stating that the Crown Estate, which manages Crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer, would need to pay him around £558,000 if he gave up the lease."
Furthermore, a "compensatory sum" of roughly $248,000 would be paid to Andrew "until he reached year 25 of the agreement, in 2028."
Currently, Andrew's lease states that he owes "one peppercorn (if demanded)" in rent, meaning a small, symbolic payment—essentially nothing at all, unless it's formally demanded.
