Somewhat hilariously, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were “implicated” in the National Audit Office’s report on royal residences and royal leases. There were very few headlines about Prince Edward and Sophie’s situation because, well… they can’t even pay people to complain at this point. The outrage was almost entirely directed at the House of York and all of their rent-free apartments and multiple leases on various prime real estate. But Sophie and Edward’s situation is pretty awful too. They have a “peppercorn” lease on Bagshot Park, an enormous, 120-room mansion on a 51-acre estate. While Edward “paid” £5 million in 2007, he has barely paid anything since then. Not only that, part of Edward’s Crown Estate lease says that he can sublet part of the Bagshot property and pocket the profits. Which is probably why the Daily Mail eagerly reported this: all is well and good, because Edward and Sophie rented out some of the property to the Royal Collection Trust, you guys! Please.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh pocketed rental income from a royal charity by sub-letting a stable block at their Surrey home that they leased from the Crown Estate. Prince Edward and wife Sophie earned an undisclosed sum after renting out a unit in the grounds of their Bagshot Park mansion to the Royal Collection Trust.
The RCT is the registered charity that cares for the Royal Collection, one of the world’s greatest troves of art and antiquities that is held in trust by the sovereign on behalf of the nation.
Sources insisted last night that the arrangement was only for a short period of time and is not unusual, since the Royal Household also charges rent to the same charity for expenses such as office space.
But while the move was entirely within the terms of the Edinburghs’ lease, the arrangement is likely to be carefully examined by MPs as part of a wider investigation into the Royal Family’s property dealings amid public concern that they have been benefiting from favourable deals.
It can now be revealed that Edward and Sophie have benefited from a similar arrangement to Andrew as regards their Grade II-listed, 120-room mansion 11 miles south of Windsor Castle. The property was first leased to Edward in 1998 via a company, Eclipse Nominees Limited (Bagshot Park), which saw him pay £5 million up front. This means he has only ever had to pay a ‘peppercorn rent’ since – a nominal amount each year for legal purposes. The late Queen’s son has also spent £1.38 million on refurbishment and has a 150-year lease on the property until 2157.
As part of the lease he is entitled to sub-let parts of the estate which, according to the NAO, ‘allows the leaseholder to generate income for themselves, which is not returned to The Crown Estate’.
The report revealed that the Edinburghs invested a ‘significant’ sum doing up an old stable block which was rented out to a third party until six years ago. The lease allows the stables to be used as offices, research and development, for the stabling of horses or residential accommodation. Previous reports suggest he had earned up to £130,000 a year from the scheme. What was not known, until now, is that another unit in the block was also rented out for a ‘short period’ of time to the RCT. A trust spokesman said: ‘We do not disclose details of storage locations or arrangements.’
A few things. First, no one has ever said where Edward got the initial £5 million up front, and I feel certain that it was some sort of arrangement with his mother. As in, Queen Elizabeth paid the £5 million and ensured that Edward got an extremely cushy lease agreement from the Crown Estates. Second of all, they’re still playing fast and loose with how much money Edward and Sophie have pocketed overall by subletting various horse barns or whatever. It actually sounds like they’ve been collecting hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from sublets for more than a decade, but they also rented out some space for the Royal Collection Trust. Also: why is the RCT renting out storage space on Edward and Sophie’s country home?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
