Recent revelations about Prince Andrew’s residence at Royal Lodge, a vast estate spread across 40 hectares in Windsor Great Park, have sparked public interest. Reports indicate that the late Queen Elizabeth’s second son has not paid rent on this property for over two decades, despite holding a 75-year lease.

Adding to the controversy, Virginia Giuffre has long accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her during her teenage years, a time when she was trafficked by the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. These allegations have cast a long shadow over the prince, intensifying scrutiny from the public and media alike.

This ongoing saga has led to mounting pressure on King Charles and the British government to consider stripping Prince Andrew of his titles and possibly evicting him from the estate. However, his lease on the Crown Estate, described by some royal observers as “cast iron,” presents a significant legal obstacle.

During a recent session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, probed the issue further. He posed a question about whether Labour leader Keir Starmer would back an inquiry by a select committee to thoroughly examine the dealings of the Crown Estate, with a focus on safeguarding taxpayers’ interests.

Davey emphasized that such an inquiry would possess the authority to summon anyone involved, including Prince Andrew, to provide testimony, ensuring comprehensive oversight of the situation.

“Well, it is important in relation to all properties, Crown properties, that there is proper scrutiny so I certainly support that,” Starmer said.

Details of the prince’s lease at the Royal Lodge, signed in 2003, list his annual rent as a “peppercorn”, a nominal amount not intended to generate income for the landlord, which in this case is the Crown Estate.

It explains how Andrew has been able to remain in the lavish home even after the King cut him off financially last year, leaving him with just a £20,000 ($41,000) naval pension.

A National Audit Office (NOA) report shows this arrangement was arrived at in return for Andrew paying a £1 million ($2 million) premium and £7.5 million ($15.5 million) in refurbishment costs, which were apparently exceeded.

He must also maintain the property “in good and substantial repair”, which reportedly includes making sure the stonework is in good condition every five years and painting inside every seven years.

The deal, calculated on a minimum notional rental sum of £260,000 ($536,000), was considered good value for the Crown.

That was partly because the royal family’s use of All Saints Chapel on the estate meant security arrangements would have a “very significant impact” on the chances of getting full market value from anyone outside the family.

A similar arrangement – although with a £90,000 ($185,000) annual rent subject to reviews, and lower refurbishment costs – exists for the Earl of Wessex at Bagshot Park.

The Crown Estate stressed to the NOA that Royal Lodge could have been used as a “grace and favour” residence for the royal family, meaning the Crown Estate wouldn’t have seen a cent.

In her memoir, Nobody’s Girl, Giuffre wrote that when she was a teenager she had been forced to have sex with Andrew, who was once second-in-line to the British throne, on three occasions at the behest of Epstein, including one occasion which she described as an “orgy”.

Last Friday, Andrew announced he would give up using his title of “Duke of York”, and all his remaining honours, such as his membership of the Order of the Garter, Britain’s oldest chivalric order.

He will also no longer attend the annual royal Christmas get-togethers at Sandringham, the royal home in eastern England.

But he remains a prince of the realm and his position in the line of succession – currently 8th – is unaltered.

Although he will no longer be known as the Duke of York, he has not been stripped of the title, something which requires an act of parliament, and it remains in abeyance.

On Tuesday, MPs from the Scottish National Party lodged a parliamentary motion calling for legislation to officially remove Andrew’s titles.

“It’s about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private and make his own way in life,” said Conservative lawmaker Robert Jenrick. 

“He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again.”

– reported with AP and Reuters