Four non-working royals, including the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s daughters and the late Queen’s cousin, are being charged discounted rents for living in luxurious palace apartments – and getting it paid for by the King.
A report by the Committee of Public Accounts into the Crown Estate – which owns 255 properties inside royal palace grounds – criticised the organisation for “inconsistencies” in rent charged to non-working members of the Royal Family.
Revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor’s comfortable living arrangements sparked public backlash over the favourable leases offered to members of the Royal Family earlier this year, prompting MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to launch an inquiry into property deals made between royals and the Crown Estate.
“There can be no earthly justification for allowing well-off royals to benefit from substantially reduced rents. It is just another example of the arrogant sense of royal entitlement that they breezily expect something for nothing,” said Norman Baker, a former Lib Dem MP and vocal critic of royal finances.
Government to give local leaders power over e-bikes
People riding drunk or dangerously on e-bikes could soon face instant fines under new plans to limit anti-social behaviour.
A consultation launched on Thursday outlines new national standards to make journeys safer and pavements clear.
How will the Government tackle e-bikes?
New national standards
to improve shared e-bike schemes with clear rules for users, operators and councils.
Crack down
on nuisance parking and antisocial behaviour to keep pavements clear.
Latest measure for PM
in his everyday fixes series to make life easier by putting more in local hands.
5 min read
According to the Greater London Authority, 37 million trips were taken on e-bikes last year – a third more than the previous year.
Shared e-bikes – such as Lime, Voi, Beryl, Dott, Forest and Bolt – make short journeys quick and convenient.
Some areas enforce rules that mean such bikes cannot be parked in their vicinity.
In the London Borough of Hounslow, only Voi and Forest operated bikes are officially permitted to end a ride and park session.
The Prime Minister’s view
E-bikes can make getting around that bit easier, but when they are used irresponsibly they can be a real frustration. I want to sort that by giving communities more control and making sure companies and riders play by the rules. This is a small but important every day fix to make our streets safer.
ANDY BURNHAM, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
Bank of England hikes rates to 4% – what it means for your mortgage
The Bank of England has raised interest rates to 4 per cent in a blow to millions struggling with rising bills.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee increased the base rate by 0.25 percentage points from 3.75 per cent, marking the first rate rise since August 2023.
What rise means for mortgages
By the end of 2027, 2.3 million more households are due to come off fixed deals and face much higher bills when it comes
to remortgaging.
Many borrowers secured mortgages during the period of historically low interest rates. Now, according to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.97 per cent at the beginning of November, while the average five-year fix was 6 per cent.
4 min read
A closer look at the detail
However, fixed mortgage rates are largely influenced by financial markets’ expectations of future interest rates, rather than simply following changes to the base rate, which means lenders may have already priced in today’s increase.
This means fixed-rate mortgage deals
won’t necessarily become immediately
more expensive.
Tracker or variable rate
- Homeowners with tracker mortgages will typically see their repayments rise following today’s announcement.
- That’s because these mortgages follow the base rate, usually with
an additional percentage added by
the lender.
For example, someone with a £200,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years could see their monthly payments rise by £28 if their interest rate increased from 4.15 to
4.4 per cent.
Could a tracker be better long term?
While that would be painful short term,
some brokers are suggesting that a
tracker could be better long term if rates start to come down again, depending on your circumstances.
Tired and putting on weight? This could be the surprising reason
Bad news for oat milk lovers: Swapping cow’s milk for vegan alternatives risks a deficiency of an essential mineral that can cause tiredness, weight gain and – in children – low intelligence.
A study has found that if people replace half the dairy products in their diet with vegan substitutes, it would cut their iodine intake by up to 28 per cent.
What do we need iodine for?
Iodine is needed to make the thyroid hormone, lack of which causes tiredness and weight gain.
Risks are especially high in children, teenagers and pregnant and breastfeeding women, who need more iodine to support their brain development or that of their baby.
4 min read
5 min read
What did one expert say?
Strictly cutting out [dairy] is extreme. Even reducing it is a risk. When you prioritise climate at the expense of health, I think it’s irresponsible.
Dr Ty Beal, a food researcher at the Swiss Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
A closer look at the detail
- Iodine consumption can vary depending on where you live, as the main repository of iodine is seawater.
- The mineral is found in seafood and is present in rainwater in coastal areas.
- Historically, some villages in Alpine valleys with poor soils had such low iodine intake that they were known for the number of people with low thyroid function and low IQ.
The switch to plant-based milks
Such severe deficiency is now rare, because many countries add iodine to table salt.
The UK does not, because Britons have traditionally eaten a lot of dairy produce, a good source of iodine because it is added to cattle feed.
Seven royal properties are lived in by working royals who get them rent-free in return for helping the King with his royal duties, but three are lived in by members of the royal family who do not perform royal duties.
Their rent is meant to be set at 60 per cent of market rate, but this policy was not enforced over many years, the report revealed – raising questions over how much, or how little, they have been charged.
The Crown Estate is a commercial body that manages the Royal Family’s portfolio of property on behalf of the monarch. Its profits go to the Treasury to fund public services, so it is required by law to “achieve the best price” it can from renting out the 2,475 properties it manages, including those occupied by the royal family.
Baker added: “If the King wants to subsidise members of his family, that is up to him, but the public purse should not lose out. This reduced rate scandal should be ended immediately and if the King has any shame, he should make backdated payments to bring the rents paid up to 100 per cent for the entire period since the leases began.”
The four non-working royals who benefit from reduced rent are Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The King pays for all of their rents from the Privy Purse – his private income generated from the Duchy of Lancaster.
“Prior to 2026, outdated residential property valuations led to inconsistencies in the rent charged for non-working members of the Royal family within the occupied royal palaces estate,” said the latest PAC report, published Friday.
Property valuations were reportedly reviewed in 2026 following an earlier investigation by the National Audit Office. “These valuations were either out of date or did not exist and were updated during the NAO’s review of residential property arrangements,” the PAC said.
Previous reports estimated Eugenie’s rent, for three-bedroom Ivy Cottage on Kensington Palace grounds, would go for £10,000-£15,000 per month on the open market. The King’s Privy Purse is reported to foot this rental bill at around 64 per cent of market rate – £6,000-£9,000 a month.
Similarly, reports estimate Princess Beatrice’s four-bedroom apartment in St James’s Palace would fetch around £15,000-£20,000 a month, meaning the King would be paying up to £13,600 a month for her to live there.
The five-bedroom apartment of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in Kensington Palace is harder to estimate, but Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming that the late Queen had paid their rent at £120,000 a year after a scandal of their £69-a-week rent back in 2002.
Friday’s PAC report recommended that the Royal Household “should implement its policy for setting rent for all its residential properties”, including regular reviews “to ensure rental income remains aligned with market rates and maximises value for money”.
Andrew’s sublets
As well as the seven working royals living rent-free in royal residences, the Crown Estate holds five leases of royal properties, including: Forest Lodge, leased to the Prince and Princess of Wales; Bagshot Park, to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; and Thatched House Lodge, to Princess Alexandra, the late Queen’s cousin.
Mountbatten-Windsor held the lease on Royal Lodge until earlier this year, and was permitted under the terms of the agreement to sublet cottages on the estate and keep the profits.
The PAC revealed that all three cottages on the estate were sublet at once “for a period of less than a year” with rents set “below market rates”, generating an income for Andrew of about £2,000 a month.
The PAC said during the time Andrew lived there, “one cottage was sublet at below-market rates for most of its tenancy to an in-situ tenant who worked for the Royal family”.
Though Mountbatten-Windsor no longer holds this lease, the leases on Bagshot Park and Thatched House Lodge both allow subletting.
The report said: “There should be a standard provision in leases that prohibits sub-letting, unless the landlord’s prior permission is obtained.” It also noted that it would be “normal practice” for the Crown Estate to receive a share of the profits from sub-letting.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “We are grateful to the Public Accounts Committee and its members for their work on this inquiry. We acknowledge the Committee’s recommendation and will carefully consider it as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.”