The agreed rent for Forest Lodge was 50pc higher than the rent paid by the last tenants, Alexander Fitzgibbons, the chairman of the party-planning business Fait Accompli, who signed a joint rental agreement with Cristina Stenbeck, a Swedish businesswoman.
The Prince of Wales is understood to pay the rent out of private income he receives after tax from the Duchy of Cornwall estate.
The Prince and Princess also live at Kensington Palace, their official London residence, and Anmer Hall, a mansion on the Sandringham Estate that they received as a wedding gift from Elizabeth II. Because Amner Hall was a gift – and therefore the couple did not pay for it – they are unlikely to have paid stamp duty on the unmortgaged home.
It comes ahead of hearings of the public accounts committee on its inquiry into the Crown Estate, which was launched in December. The Crown Estate, which administers a £15bn portfolio, is an independent commercial body, the profits of which are fed back into the Treasury.
It is expected that evidence of the finances of the Royal Household will be shared for the first time.
The inquiry was launched after it was revealed that the former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his titles by the King last year, had paid a minimal “peppercorn” rent on his previous Windsor home for 20 years.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had spent £8m on renovations on the Royal Lodge. He moved to Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate earlier this year.
Representatives of the Prince and Princess were contacted for comment.
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