Committee will examine value for money to taxpayers of leases of properties to members of royal family
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.
Publishing responses from the crown estate and the Treasury to detailed questions over the lease arrangements, the committee’s chair, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said: “Having reflected on what we have received, the information provided clearly forms the basis for an inquiry.” He said this would take place in the new year.
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 £1m premium plus £7.5m upfront for refurbishment and agreed to pay a “peppercorn rent (if demanded)”.
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 had “open market rent”, but gave no further details. “Negotiations were conducted on an arm’s length basis to ensure appropriate market terms were agreed,” the crown estate said.
