However, it is now believed that The Crown Estate is facing pressure to publish the exact terms of Andrew’s lease.
As reported by The Sunday Times, a commercial agreement with the Crown Estate shows that Andrew is able to stay at the mansion if he sticks to the clause in the contract to maintain the upkeep on the building – something he has done.
The publication reports that Andrew paid an initial £1 million in 2003, followed by around £7 million on renovations since. This is in addition to a notional rent understood to be £260,000 a year.
Now, The Crown Estate is facing pressure to reveal terms of the lease.
Norman Baker, a royal author and former Liberal Democrat minister, told the news outlet: “The public at large are very clear that Andrew is disgracing this country and the Royal Family.
“If Andrew is not willing to move from Royal Lodge to a residence more befitting of his diminished status, it is clear the terms of the lease need to be brought forward into the public domain.
“All leases have some kind of break clause, so the public must know how he has been able to remain there, and on what terms he could be forced to leave.”
Andrew still lives at Royal Lodge with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, with it believed to be his intention that it one day gets passed on to his daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
