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The public accounts committee is to launch an inquiry into the crown estate and its leases on properties to members of the royal family after questions over the lease of Royal Lodge to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Publishing responses from the crown estate and the Treasury to detailed questions over the lease arrangements, the committee\u2019s chair, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said: \u201cHaving reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the basis for an inquiry.\u201d He said this would take place in the new year.<\/p>\n In a report for the committee, the crown estate confirmed that Mountbatten-Windsor was unlikely to receive any compensation for giving up his 75-year Royal Lodge lease early because of repairs that will have to be carried out on the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park. In 2003 he paid a \u00a31m premium plus \u00a37.5m upfront for refurbishment and agreed to pay a \u201cpeppercorn rent (if demanded)\u201d.<\/p>\n The crown estate also revealed details of Forest Lodge, the new home of the Prince and Princess of Wales. It said William and Catherine, who moved into the property during the October half-term, held a 20-year non-assignable lease on the property and were paying \u201copen market rent\u201d, but gave no further details. \u201cNegotiations were conducted on an arm\u2019s length basis to ensure appropriate market terms were agreed,\u201d the crown estate said.<\/p>\n It also provided information on other homes including the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh\u2019s Bagshot Park and Thatched House Lodge in London\u2019s Richmond Park. The inquiry will examine the value for money to taxpayers.<\/p>\n The committee will consider what witnesses to call to give evidence once it has considered all the written submissions. In theory it could summon Mountbatten-Windsor to appear. But there is no precedent in modern times for a member of the royal family giving evidence in person to a parliamentary committee, and the committee does not have the power to force him to attend.<\/p>\n In its briefing to the committee, the crown estate \u2013 an independent commercial business and public corporation \u2013 said: \u201cOur initial assessment is that while the extent of the end-of-tenancy dilapidations and repairs required are not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration, they will mean in all likelihood that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease \u2026 once dilapidations are taken into account.\u201d<\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor gave the minimum 12 months\u2019 notice that he would surrender the lease on 30 October. If no end-of-tenancy repairs had been required, he would have been entitled to \u00a3488,342.21 for ending his tenancy on 30 October 2026.<\/p>\n The crown estate said that in determining the Royal Lodge lease, relevant factors considered were the property\u2019s location within Windsor Great Park, its state of repair and the security requirements concerning the Royal Chapel, which lies within the grounds of the property and was regularly used by the royal family at the time.<\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor took out the lease on Royal Lodge and its eight cottages in 2003 after the death of the queen mother, who had lived there, and the property needed significant refurbishment.<\/p>\n