<\/p>\n
“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”<\/i><\/p>\n
Amid ongoing fallout surrounding Prince Andrew and his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, there have been renewed calls for him and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, to move out of their home at Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n
Prince Andrew has paid \u201cone peppercorn (if demanded)\u201d in rent per year to the Crown Estate since 2003, the Telegraph <\/em>reported<\/a> last night. Sky News <\/em>explains<\/a> that \u201cpeppercorn rent\u201d is \u201ca legal term used in leases to show that rent technically exists, so the lease is valid, but it\u2019s nominal, often literally \u00a31 a year or just a symbolic amount. In practice, it means the tenant pays no rent.\u201d<\/p>\n The Crown Estate<\/a> is a collection of lands and holdings belonging to the British monarch, but it is not King Charles\u2019s private property nor does he make decisions about its assets. The relationship between the monarch and the Crown Estate dates<\/a> back to 1760, \u201cwhen George III surrendered the management of Crown Lands to Parliament for a fixed annual payment.\u201d Now, profit from the Crown Estate goes to the UK Treasury, who subsequently decide how much to pay the King, a payment called the \u201cSovereign Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n The revelation about Prince Andrew\u2019s rent \u201chelps to explain how he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have been able to afford to remain in the sprawling 30-room estate, and will add to pressure on the prince to give it up,\u201d per the Telegraph<\/em>. Prince Andrew, who pays for upkeep on the property, holds the lease on Royal Lodge until 2078, and the Crown Estate would need to pay him around \u00a3558,000 (approx $747,000) if he gave up the lease. The BBC <\/em>noted<\/a>, \u201cThe King last year ended any financial support for his brother\u2014and it still remains unclear how Andrew pays for costs such as security and the requirement to pay for the upkeep.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been growing calls for Andrew to move out of a Crown Estate property. \u201cIt\u2019s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life,\u201d Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC <\/em>Radio 4 Today program. \u201cHe has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again. I don\u2019t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him.\u201d When asked if Andrew should leave Royal Lodge, Jenrick said, \u201cI don\u2019t think the taxpayer in any way should be footing the bill for him to live in luxury homes ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n