Prince Andrew's controversial 'peppercorn rent' deal at Royal Lodge explained
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Prince Andrew has an unusual agreement regarding his current residence.
The prince, who relinquished his former title of the Duke of Edinburgh, has been implicated in a number of allegations following the posthumous release of Virgina Giuffre's book Nobody's Girl, which goes into detail of her association with Andrew as well as his association with convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, including allegations of sexual assault.
It follows a sensational interview in 2019 with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, which exposed his alleged involvement.
In the wake of the scandal, pressure has been mounting on Andrew to vacate Royal Lodge, the sprawling property he calls home.
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The 'lodge', which is actually a seven bedroom mansion, is located on the grounds surrounding Windsor Castle and has some 30 rooms in total, including accommodation for security staff as well as a 'gothic saloon'.
It has emerged that Andrew has a controversial agreement in place for renting the home, with the lease in effect until 2078.
The Times reported that the full lease explains how his rent comes in the form of... peppercorns.
“’Rent’ means one peppercorn (if demanded)," it says.
While the Royal Lodge has been home to several royals over the years, including the Queen Mother, it is not actually owned by the Windsors.
This is because it's part of the Crown Estates, a collection of land holdings and properties with a total value of some £15 billion.
The Crown Estates are technically the property of the Crown itself rather than any individual member of the Royal Family, including the monarch.
They are managed by an independent body, and money generated from the Crown Estates is used to finance the Royal Family via the Sovereign Grant.
Prince Andrew has lived in the lodge for around 20 years since the death of the previous resident the Queen Mother, and he does so technically as a tenant.
This is where the 'peppercorn' comes in, with the Prince paying 'one peppercorn' a year - if requested.
This actually has nothing to do with any kind of foodstuff at all.
In law, a 'peppercorn' is a term that describes a symbolic payment in order to confirm that something has changed hands.
For example, if someone wanted to give someone a house they might request that someone pay them £1 - not the house's actual value but to symbolically show that money has changed hands.
So in practice, when it says that Prince Andrew has a 'peppercorn' rent, it effectively means he's living there rent free.
However, that's not to say expense free, because he is still required to manage the upkeep and renovations of the mansion, a cost of several million pounds.
LADbible Group has contacted Prince Andrew's representatives for comment.