Parliament will audit his assets after the Prince Andrew scandal

He Public Accounts Committee of the British Parliament has announced the start of a research on the heritage of the Royal House and their rents to family members after the controversy created around the rental contract Andrés Mountbatten-Windsor, stripped of his title of prince of England, upon Royal Lodgethe 30-room mansion in which he resided in Windsor without paying a lease for more than 20 years.

This controversy led the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the British Parliament to demand explanations from both the Treasury and the The Crown Estatethe entity managing the assets of the Crown, delving even further into the crisis that the British Royal House is experiencing after the withdrawal of official titles and functions from Prince Andrew due to his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

This committee requested detailed information on the Royal Lodge contract terms and whether Andrés has met his maintenance obligations, as well as whether public funds have been used to pay for repairs.

After receiving this information, which reveals that Prince Andrew He didn’t pay rent for two decades, the president of Public Accounts Committee, Geoffrey Clifton-Brownexplained all this “clearly constitutes the basis for an investigation”, which will be carried out next year.

“The Public Accounts Committee fulfills one of its main objectives: to promote transparency in information of public interest, as part of its general mission of ensuring the value of money for the taxpayer,” he stated.

The committee’s report also confirms that Prince Andrew will not receive any compensation, which amounts to 488,000 pounds -555,000 euros-, for giving up the 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge due to the poor condition of the residence and the repairs that need to be made.

The parliamentary investigation has also put the spotlight on the contracts of other members of the royal family. The Crown Estate has informed the PAC that William and KatePrince and Princess of Wales, have signed a contract20-year lease for Forest Lodgeyour new residence, starting July 5, 2025.

This contract has been established on “appropriate market terms”, with an open market rent, in contrast to Andrés’ symbolic and derisory rent.

In fact, weeks ago The Times published the copy of the Royal Lodge lease agreement. The agreement stipulates that the rent is “one grain of pepper (if required)” per year since 2003, although it is known that initially Prince Andrew paid a million pounds (1.17 million euros) as a lease and at least 7.5 million (8.78 million euros) in renovations made in 2005.

The Public Accounts Committee has announced that the investigation will be developed based on the conclusions provided by the National Audit Office (NAO)the body in charge of public oversight. “We look forward to the findings of the National Audit Office and plan to hold an inquiry based on the resulting evidence in 2026,” said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

The date of the first testing session has not yet been made public and several British media suggest that Prince Andrew could be called to appear.