Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received more than £2,000 a month from subletting three cottages at his former Royal Lodge residence in Windsor, despite not paying regular rent for the property, according to a report by the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
The report, published on Friday, November 6, 2026, revealed that the former Duke of York generated the income for an undisclosed period of less than a year from late 2021 by renting out three cottages within the Royal Lodge estate.
The rental income was paid directly to Mountbatten-Windsor, while the Crown Estate, which managed the property, had no oversight of the amounts charged to tenants under the terms of his lease.
The committee also found that one cottage had been sublet to a Royal Family employee at below-market rates for most of the 22-year tenancy.
Mountbatten-Windsor signed a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge in 2003 after paying an initial £1 million premium and committing approximately £7.5 million towards renovations and other costs. The arrangement meant he did not have to pay regular rent.
However, the committee said the total amount he earned from subletting over the more than two decades he lived at the property could not be established because the available records were incomplete.
The findings have prompted MPs to recommend that the Crown Estate make landlord approval a standard requirement before tenants can sublet its properties.
The committee said future leases should prohibit subletting unless the landlord gives prior permission and obtains relevant financial details.
Mountbatten-Windsor left Royal Lodge in February 2026 following renewed scrutiny of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The report also examined wider arrangements involving royal properties, raising concerns about rent valuations and the management of accommodation occupied by members of the Royal Family who are not working royals.
