The exterior of Royal Lodge is showing signs of wear and tear, our new pictures reveal after it emerged that Prince Andrew’s tenancy is contingent on him maintaining the 30-room mansion.
The disgraced royal is facing pressure to give up the home where he has lived with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson since buying a 75-year lease on it in August 2003.
It comes as Andrew is set to be called to speak about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in front of a US committee which is ‘extremely interested’ in hearing from him.
The Royal Lodge lease makes the prince responsible for maintenance of the lavish property within Windsor Great Park and its annual running costs of around £250,000.
But pictures taken outside yesterday morning show crumbling paintwork, cracks and black mould appearing on the exterior walls of the gatehouse and main property.
Under the lease, the Prince had to pay £1million upfront and then spend £7.5millon on urgent renovations – although it is thought the eventual bill was nearly £10million.
By doing this, Andrew avoided a ‘nominal’ annual rent on the property of £260,000 – and his family will have the mansion until 2078 unless he breaks the lease terms.
An £8.5million initial outlay would be equivalent to £113,000 per year, if Andrew or his family remained there for 75 years, less than half the supposed current market rate.
The lease says Andrew must rectify any upkeep issues, and can be kicked out if he failed to carry out that maintenance after being given an opportunity to do so.
The Royal Lodge lease makes the prince responsible for maintenance of the lavish property within Windsor Great Park and its annual running costs of around £250,000 (pictured yesterday)
Cracks and mould are visible on the outside walls of Royal Lodge in Windsor in photos snapped yesterday
Crumbling paintwork is also seen on the exterior walls of the gatehouse at Royal Lodge
The Royal Lodge gatehouse is pictured yesterday in what appears to be a state of disrepair
He must repaint the exterior once every five years with at least two coats in exactly the same colour – and paint the inside every seven years, reported the Telegraph.
The Prince could also be made to leave for using the property for ‘any illegal or immoral purpose’, although there is currently no suggestion that this has ever happened.
Andrew has been residing rent-free at the home for 22 years, paying just ‘one peppercorn (if demanded) per annum’, according to the extraordinary terms of his lease.
The Prince has faced calls to vacate the property in recent years since revelations of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were first reported.
Amid the clamour to evict Andrew, he has so far stayed put – and property experts have said it would be ‘impossible’ to get rid of him because he has a ‘cast iron lease’.
This is despite King Charles III last year severing his younger brother’s annual personal allowance, which was believed to have been in the region of £1million a year.
The lease agreement also contains a clause that states the Crown Estate would have to pay Andrew around £558,000 if he gave up the lease voluntarily before 2028.
But ultimately, there is no break clause in the contract, which means the King – who has repeatedly tried to convince his brother to move out – cannot summarily throw him out.
The building must also be insured against storms, earthquakes, explosions, terrorist attacks, riots, civil commotion and labour disturbances – all of which will be hugely expensive for such a large property.
Andrew and Sarah at Westminster Cathedral last month before the Duchess of Kent’s funeral
The entrance gate to Royal Lodge and the property itself can be seen in Windsor’s Great Park
A photograph from 1981 of the Queen Mother’s drawing room at Royal Lodge in Windsor
Separately, The Sun reported that it had seen documents suggesting Andrew has only been required to pay his water bills ‘from time to time’.
This would have meant he has avoided paying thousands of pounds, according to the newspaper – when other UK households have seen their water bills soar.
Royal Lodge has a council tax band of ‘H’ in the Old Windsor area of Windsor and Maidenhead, meaning an annual bill of £3,685.40.
Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that Andrew could be hauled before Parliament to answer questions about his living arrangements after Sir Keir Starmer backed the idea.
The Prime Minister said he would back an inquiry by MPs into why the former Duke of York has lived rent-free at Royal Lodge.
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said that an inquiry by a select committee should be able to grill witnesses ‘including the current occupant’ – a reference to Andrew.
Sir Keir’s comments came hours after his Government was told to investigate Andrew’s finances and the nature of the ‘rotten deal’ regarding Royal Lodge.
Former Labour minister Baroness Hodge told the Today Programme: ‘[The] Treasury is supposed to do the job properly and audit a lot of this money. It’s like treading on eggshells. They just don’t dare do it properly.’
Baroness Hodge, a former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee which oversees government spending, also called on the National Audit Office (NAO) to scrutinise the royal finances.
At one point on Tuesday, Whitehall sources believed the spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, could launch a probe because it was in ‘the public interest’ to examine whether Royal Lodge was ‘value for money’ to taxpayers.
But one source admitted they had concluded Andrew’s lease on the property was watertight, adding: ‘There are no plans to look into this now. That might change at some point in future. There is a lot of political pressure.’
Baroness Hodge added: ‘Somebody told me last week they can’t [get involved], well, they did it for me when I was chairman, they can do it again. I think the Treasury should be involved and doing its job properly. A lot of this is taxpayers’ money.’
The first and last pages of Andrew’s lease for Royal Lodge, released by the Crown Estate
A document shows the compensation payable to Prince Andrew on surrender of the lease
Dame Meg Hillier, chairman of the Treasury Committee, said: ‘Where money flows, particularly where taxpayers’ money is involved or taxpayers’ interests are involved, Parliament has a responsibility to have a light shine upon that, and we need to have answers.’
On Tuesday, senior Tory Robert Jenrick declared it was ‘about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private’ as ‘the public are sick of him’.
Mr Jenrick, the Tory justice spokesman, told Radio 4: ‘It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life. I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him.’
It comes after a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre alleged three sexual encounters with the prince – who gave up his titles last week over his relationship with Epstein, and his links to an alleged Chinese spy. Andrew has always denied the accusations.
Parliamentary committees could now look into the Crown Estate’s handling of the grandiose home set in 98 pristine acres of Windsor Great Park.
Trying to get Andrew and Sarah kicked out of the property would be impossible, according to top property lawyer Mike Hansom of BLB Solicitors.
Estate agent Henry Sherwood agreed they would be unlikely to get him to leave against his will – unless lawyers were able to dig up an obscure ancient law giving senior royals the power to oust him.
Mr Sherwood suggested: ‘The yearly rent could be as much as £1.2million per annum if it was on the open market.’ This works out to £17million over the years.
The Public Accounts Committee said its own programme of inquiries was ‘full up until the new year’, but it would ‘decide in due course’ whether to probe the Crown Estate’s accounts and annual reports.
At the weekend, it emerged that Andrew had asked his police protection officer to investigate claims his accuser Ms Giuffre had a criminal record, which has prompted Scotland Yard to launch a probe.
And in her memoir, published on Tuesday, Ms Giuffre claimed that Andrew’s team tried to hire ‘internet trolls to hassle’ her in an attempt to avoid being served court papers. Andrew has always denied all the allegations against him.
Sir Keir’s spokesman was asked if Andrew should face police questioning over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. They said the Government’s position was the same as in any other criminal investigation and that if someone had relevant information they should share it.