Prince Edward reportedly pays ‘peppercorn rent’ on his 120-room mansion, a source claims. MEGA
Prince Edward is paying a “peppercorn rent” to live in a 120-room mansion in Surrey – prompting renewed scrutiny of royal property arrangements and questions over whether the public is subsidising royal lifestyles.
OK! can reveal Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh and the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II, who died at age 96, has lived for the past 25 years at Bagshot Park, a 51-acre estate near Bracknell owned by the Crown Estate.
He occupies the grade II listed mansion with his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Prince Edward is reportedly paying a peppercorn rent to live in his mansion in Surrey.MEGA
Documents released after legal pressure show even though Edward paid $6.7 million upfront in 2007 for a 150-year lease on the home, his ongoing rent is a nominal peppercorn.
The disclosure follows similar revelations about ex-Prince Andrew, 65, and comes amid wider debate about secrecy and accountability in royal finances.
Prince Edward allegedly paid $6.7 million rent in 2007.MEGA
The lease for Bagshot Park was originally granted in 1998, when Edward paid $6,700-a-year for a 50-year term.
After contributing around $1.9 million toward renovations, the rent rose to about $121,000 per year – a figure described by experts as market value, while the Crown Estate covered the remainder of the roughly $4 million refurbishment.
Under a 2007 extension, signed with Edward’s company Eclipse Nominees Limited, he made a $6.7 million premium payment, described as market tested, but now – like Andrew did on his $40 million Royal Lodge home – pays only a token rent on the palatial property.
Prince Edward reportedly paid $6,700-a-year for a 50-year term.MEGA
There are no restrictions preventing the sale of the lease, provided a future tenant could afford maintenance, potentially allowing Edward to profit.
The Crown Estate, whose profits go to the Treasury, had received alternative proposals for Bagshot Park after the Ministry of Defence vacated the site in 1996, including plans for a hotel and a conference center.
Campaigners argue leasing the property commercially could have generated income for taxpayers.
Edward, a working royal with patronages including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, is 15th in line to the throne and frequently represents the royal family at official engagements.
Prince Edward is the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. MEGA
The disclosure echoes recent outrage over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s financial set-up.
He had paid $11.4 million for a long lease on Royal Lodge at Windsor Great Park while paying only a peppercorn rent. Andrew’s lease restricted succession to his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, 66, or their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35.
Public fury over that arrangement intensified because of Andrew’s association with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and he has since agreed to move to accommodations on the King’s Sandringham estate.
Norman Baker, a royal author and former Liberal Democrat minister, hit out: “It is obscene not just that Edward and Sophie have been given a 120-room mansion to live in, but even more so that they have to pay a mere peppercorn rent, less than a struggling couple would pay to rent a pokey flat in Romford.”
A spokesperson for the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic added: “There is absolutely no reason why Edward should be supplied with subsidised housing. These properties are state-owned. They should not be in the gift of the monarch for their family. Most people have no idea who Edward is or what he does. Why is he getting any state subsidy?”
Bagshot Park was built between 1875 and 1879 on the instructions of Queen Victoria, who died at age 81, as a home for her third son Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who passed away at age 91.
The episode has reignited debate about why royal wills, private trusts and correspondence with public authorities remain shielded from disclosure under special exemptions, even as the monarchy continues to wield significant public influence.
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