The Duke of Edinburgh reportedly pays a peppercorn rent for the royal residence he and the Duchess of Edinburgh have called home for the past 25 years. Prince Edward leases Bagshot Park near Windsor from the Crown Estate.
He paid £5million for a 150-year lease in 2007 but now pays a nominal amount for the mansion. News of Edward’s arrangement comes after it emerged in October that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor paid a peppercorn rent on Royal Lodge after an initial £8.5m payment.
Documents held by the Crown Estate about Edward’s Bagshot Park arrangement were disclosed to The Times. The Daily Express has not seen or independently verified the documents. Buckingham Palace and the Crown Estate have been approached for comment.
The paperwork reportedly shows that there are no conditions on the future sale of the Duke of Edinburgh’s lease except a provision that the new tenant can afford to maintain the Grade II-listed mansion.
According to The Times, before the price was agreed, the premium paid for the 2007 lease extension and as a down payment, was “market tested” by the Crown Estate, which is owned by the Monarch “in right of the Crown”, meaning it is not King Charles‘s private property.
Profits from the Crown Estate are paid to the Treasury, which decides what annual payment the King receives.
Revelations about the peppercorn rent paid by Mr Mountbatten-Windsor for Royal Lodge led to accusations he was benefiting from a public subsidy.
Critics have asked how it can be justified for Edward, the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s youngest son, to occupy a property which could instead be leased by the Crown Estate to the benefit of taxpayers.
Edward is a full-time working member of the Royal Family. He has led the development of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and became its patron after the death of his father, Prince Philip.
The Duke has a number of patronages, including the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, Northern Ballet and the Production Guild of Great Britain.
Amid a public outcry linked to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor agreed to move out of Royal Lodge. He is due to move to King Charles’s private Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker said it was “obscene” not just that the Edinburghs have been given a 120-room mansion to live in, but that they have to pay a peppercorn rent, which he said was less than a struggling couple would pay to rent a “pokey flat” in Romford.
A spokesperson for the campaign group Republic said there was absolutely no reason why Edward should be supplied with subsidised housing.
They said the properties are state-owned and should not be in the gift of the monarch for their family. The spokesperson asked: “Most people have no idea who Edward is or what he does. Why is he getting any state subsidy?”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
