Wild riddle of Royal Family mansions from ‘peppercorn rents’ to moneypits and scandal

From 120-room mansions to 730-acre family compounds, the Royal Family have access to the finest home in the country, and often for no rent at all. Here, The Mirror explores the little-known living arrangements of Charles, Andrew, Edward, Anne, Kate and William and Beatrice and Eugenie

 

 

With palaces, castles and cottages to choose from, members of the Royal Family live in the lap of luxury – but often, it’s not what it seems.

As mortgage and tax rates continue to bite, interest in where the royals call home – often for free – has increased. Prince Harry and Meghan came under fire over their £2.4million renovations at Frogmore House in Windsor, which they eventually paid back out of their own pocket.

And the latest saga has seen Prince Andrew ordered out of his £30million, 30-roomed Royal Lodge after paying a ‘peppercorn rent’ for decades. This weekend, it was also claimed that his brother Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, have paid a tiny amount of rent for their majestic home, Bagshot Park in Surrey.

Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate’s beloved Anmer House in Norfolk is not without supposed scandal, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were forbidden from living in one royal pile because of mum Sarah Fergsuson’s fears. From family compounds to free rides, here, The Mirror takes a look at the fascinating royal property portfolio…

King Charles

Back in 1980, the Duchy of Cornwall, run by a then-Prince Charles, bought Highgrove House and 140 hectares of surrounding land to create a mansion fit for a future king.

Built in the 1790s, the Georgian neo-classical style property was the home of Maurice Macmillan, son of former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Located near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, the duchy bought it for £865,000 and Charles lived there rent free for 13 years.

Then in 1993, he agreed to pay ‘market rent’ and became his own tenant, paying rent into his own duchy. According to the Guardian, duchy accounts recorded payments of £659,285 in 2022 for rent on the house and other properties used by Charles and his staff.

In an awkward twist, Charles’ son William became his landlord when he ascended the throne and William took over as Prince of Wales, inheriting the duchy. According to a report in the Mail, he pays £700,000 a year to William for use of the house that he still calls home.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor

Andrew has lived in Royal Lodge, which is in Windsor Great Park, since 2003 when he paid £1million to secure a 75-year lease and was required to pay ‘one peppercorn’ in rent per year, ‘if demanded’. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, has continued to live there with Andrew for the past 29 years despite their divorce in 1996.

Andrew spent £7.5millon on urgent renovations under the lease. It is believed, though, the eventual bill was nearly £10million. By doing this, Andrew avoided a “nominal” annual rent on the property of £260,000 – and his family would have had the mansion until 2078 unless he broke the lease terms. An £8.5million initial outlay would be equivalent to £113,000 per year, if Andrew or his family had remained there for 75 years, less than half the supposed current market rate.

However, after being stripped of all of his titles last month over his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, the former prince was forced to give up the home and will be moving to a much smaller property on the King’s private Sandringham estate without his former wife.

At the time, it was said the move to an unknown house in Norfolk would take place as soon as practically possible, with reports suggesting this would be sometime in the new year. However, according to The Sun, the move could actually be delayed until February as moving out of such a grand home into a smaller one would take time, and it is unclear if his new home would be ready.

A source said: “He has a large house where he has lived for a long time and he will be moving into a more modest house so, logically, it won’t happen this side of Christmas.”

The hold-up in the former Duke of York’s move means that this year, he will have one final Christmas in his mansion. Sources say it is a welcome relief to the Royal Family because it keeps Andrew away from Sandringham during the festive season, when most of the senior royals are in residence. This situation would have been “suboptimal” and “quite awkward,” insiders believe.

Prince Edward

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh‘s Grade II-listed home, Bagshot Park in Surrey was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II for their 1999 wedding. Located 11 miles south of Windsor and lying within Windsor Great Park, the 120-roomed property was constructed in 1879 for Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Official records from that time show there were 26 servants living in the main house, as well as four valets, a cook, three footmen and at least nine maids.

Prince Arthur was known to have ordered a painstaking installation of Indian-style wooden panels in what was then a billiards room. It apparently took two years to finish, and the two men who completed the work were said to have stayed in a tent in the grounds. Now seemingly used as a reception area, the same room was visible in public video calls made by Sophie and Edward during the pandemic.

Featuring a striking red brick exterior with Tudor gothic stone, other royals to have inhabited Bagshot Park in generations gone by include the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV, who lived there until 1816. King George III’s nephew and son-in-law, Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester also lived there until his death in 1834. A little more recently, Bagshot Park was requisitioned by the Army as a staff college between 1942 and 1945. “The house was used in the war for the military, and back then would have catered for huge numbers of people,” royal expert Ingrid Seward previously revealed.

Soon after they moved in, Sophie and Edward oversaw major renovations to the £30million property, costing an estimated £2.18m, of which £1.6m was funded by the Crown Estate and the rest by the Duke. One of the improvements was believed to be the addition of a stunning light-filled glass conservatory, which is accessorised with a dining table, barbecue and house plants.

“Their beautiful conservatory at the back overlooks acres of lawns,” Ingrid said. “Inside the house there’s also a marble fireplace, panelled walls, and ornate carvings and ceilings. The rooms are huge but because it’s all very Victorian, some of it looks a bit gloomy. If it hadn’t been a listed building, they might have ripped out a lot of the dark panelling.

“It’s got 120 rooms, a private lake and stables, and there are 51 acres of land. Edward and Sophie have renewed the lease from the Crown Estate for another 150 years, so it’s obviously their forever home. It’s the place that offers them total privacy – and of course, it must also be a great party house.”

The late Queen’s youngest son reportedly leased the Crown Estate home for 50 years in March 1998 for £50,000 per year, which rose to £90,000 per year after he paid £1.36million for renovations. It is believed his lease was extended in 2007 under a deal signed with this company, Eclipse Nominees Limited.

The Times now reports that he paid £5million upfront for a lease of 150 years – but now only pays a ‘peppercorn rent’. The newspaper also reports that there are also no conditions on any future sale of Edward’s lease – only that the new tenant must be able to pay for the upkeep of the vast property’s maintenance.

It means that Edward has a similar deal for his property to the one his brother Andrew held for his Royal Lodge. However, unlike Andrew, Edward and his wife Sophie are working members of the Royal Family travelling around the UK and abroad to represent the King and support charities.

Princess Anne

Anne has lived on the 730-acre Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire since 1976 after it was gifted to her as a wedding present by the late Queen Elizabeth when she married her first husband Mark Phillips. The home was privately bought by the Queen for between an estimated £500,000 and £750,000, before it was refurbished and renovated ahead of the family moving back in during the late ‘70s.

The Grade II-listed property that is said to feature five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room and a conservatory.

Gatcombe has become something of a family compound. Anne’s daughter Zara and husband Mike Tindall joined them in 2013 after they sold their Cheltenham home, and her son, Peter Phillips, also lives within the huge estate alongside his daughters, Isla and Savannah.

As it was a private purchase and a gift, it is thought that Princess Anne does not pay rent. She does, however, have to maintain the historic building and so has turned her home into a business. A working farm is on site, with cattle and breeding horses and the estate also hosts events such as horse trials.

Speaking to Countryfile, the Princess Royal previously explained: “It’s really nice to come back and just be yourself in an area like this. Being able to take on a place like this – for me, I’ve got to make it work. This is not something that comes free, this has got to pay its way, otherwise I can’t stay here.”

Zara Tindall

Zara also lives on the Gatcombe Park estate with Mike along with their children Mia, Mena and Lucas. The family lives in a nine-bedroom converted farmhouse called Aston Farm.

Sophie Smith – founder of Zhoosh Paints – commented on the interior design of Aston Farm, which according to Vogue, has five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, a library, billiards room, four reception rooms and a curved conservatory.

She told the Express: “Gatcombe Park features huge grounds which play host to lots of equestrian events throughout the year. It also includes an impressive conservatory, just built on their home, which can be seen from the front of the house, offering a sunny transition from indoor to outdoor living.”

At the centre of the estate is a converted barn known to Princess Anne’s family as “the party barn”, which has a bar, giant screen, catering facilities and combining lounges. Because the property is owned by Anne, the couple are believed to live rent-free. However, they could be in for a hefty inheritance tax bill further down the line, experts have warned.

The estate is now estimated to be worth an impressive £6million and Terry Fisher of We Buy Any Home warned: “If Gatcombe Park is valued at £6million, inheritance tax (IHT) could be substantial. In the UK, inheritance tax is currently charged at 40% on estates exceeding the £325,000 threshold, unless exemptions or reliefs apply.” Based on these figures, he estimates that a bill of “approximately £2.28 million on inheriting the property”.

Prince William and Kate

Anmer Hall is owned by the King’s private Sandringham Estate and was gifted to the couple as a wedding gift. A £1.5million refurbishment programme was put in place, paid for by private Royal Family funds.

Renovations included a new roof, new kitchen, the addition of a conservatory, complete internal redecoration; and an extensive tree-planting programme to afford the Duke and Duchess greater privacy. The home previously had its own swimming pool and tennis court, which reports say Kate and William decided to replace with an artificial lawn because of their young kids.

Previous occupiers did pay rent on the property, but it is thought that Kate and William were exempt on account of it being a private gift.

Anmer Hall has a long, and sometimes scandalous royal history. It’s rumoured to be where the King, then Prince Charles, enjoyed illicit trysts with Camilla Parker Bowles during his marriage to Princess Diana. The secluded country bolt-hole, which was being rented by Charles’ close friend Hugh van Cutsem at the time, reportedly provided the perfect place for the lovers to get together, away from the eyes of palace staff and the paparazzi’s lenses.

One royal insider, who claims to remember the couple using the property, previously told the Express: “Hugh van Cutsem is one of the [then] prince’s oldest friends. There weren’t many people he could trust at the time but Hugh was certainly one of them. Meeting Camilla in London was far too risky. Because Anmer Hall was on the Sandringham estate, it didn’t look odd for the prince to be up there.”

Anmer Hall is no longer Kate and William’s principal residence though. After a tough 18 months marked by the stress of the Princess’ battle with cancer, the royal couple have decided to move to a more secluded new home at Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park

The pair are now living in the Grade II-listed eight bedroom mansion and an exclusion zone was put in place around Forest Lodge in September ahead of the family’s relocation. Residents had expressed frustration at the permanent closure of nearby Cranbourne Gate and Cranbourne car park.

Those who lived within half a mile had previously been able to apply to hold keys to the gate for a £110-a-year fee. Additional fencing was introduced on parts of the 2.3 mile perimeter around the 150-acre no-go zone. The pair are expected to privately finance the move and will pay market rent to the Crown Estate, the owners of the property.

The stunning eight-bedroom Georgian mansion, which has been in royal possession since 1829, was listed for rent at £15,000 per month back in 2001, according to Hello! magazine. However, due to inflation over the past 24 years, property expert Russell Quirk told Manchester Evening News that William and Kate are likely to be paying double that amount to the Crown Estate.

Explaining why, he said: “In the last 20 or so years, these things vary region to region, town to town, but suffice to say the likes of Windsor have become ever more popular, particularly with overseas renters.

“What has happened over recent years in the previous government and this one is that the stamp duty regime on purchases has come more and more penal and the consequence is now a lot of people are renting instead of buying because they don’t want to pay on a property like that – say a £1 million on stamp duty.

“So the rental market in terms of demand is very very strong. As a consequence of that, that property has probably doubled in terms of its rent value, so £15,000 a month back in 2001 is now probably £30,000 a month, about £7,000 a week. It’s not insubstantial – lots and lots and lots of demand.”

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie

Prince Andrew’s daughters previously shared an apartment at St James’ Palace in London. From 2012, their dad paid £20,000 a year for them to live in the four-bedroom property, while neighbouring tenants paid anything up to £250,000.

Princess Eugenie later moved into Ivy Cottage, a stand-alone house on the grounds of Kensington Palace close to Prince Harry’s former home, Nottingham Cottage. Meanwhile, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi maintain a country base in the Cotswolds, reported in property coverage as a farmhouse purchase in 2021 valued in press reports at around £3 to £4million.

However, the women could have lived in much grander fashion. In 1997, they were gifted a £1.5million seven-bedroom Georgian mansion in Surrey by their late grandmother, the Queen. The Grade II-listed property named Birch Hall was purchased by trustees acting on behalf of the Queen following Sarah and Andrew’s divorce in 1996.

But the princesses never actually moved in because mum Fergie was reportedly worried she wouldn’t be able to afford the upkeep and running costs. Instead, the family continued to live together at Sarah and Prince Andrew’s former marital home, Sunninghill Park.

The Surrey mansion, located in the leafy village of Windlesham, sat empty for two years until being sold in 1999 for £1.5million. It was then put back up for sale in 2016 for £4.2million by the private owners who bought it from the royals.

Birch Hall boasts seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and five living rooms, and it stands on five acres of land with endless lawn space, a tennis court, its very own outdoor heated swimming pool, and a separate two-bedroom cottage for staff. Its later owners added a media and games room, an orangery and a home gym.

When the home went up for sale in 2016, Andrew Russell from estate agency Strutt and Parker told the Daily Mail: “It’s probably one of the very best of north Surrey’s village houses, there’s not that many that come on the market. It’s a proper country house with five acres of grounds.

“The house itself is a very attractive and imposing-looking property. Some of the rooms are really quite dramatic, with high ceilings and full floor to ceiling sash windows. It’s got a swimming pool, tennis court and beautiful specimen trees dating from Victorian times in the garden.”

Speaking of its heritage, Andrew added, “The owners bought it from the trustees acting for the Queen in 1999. The trustees bought it in 1997 for the princesses and I imagine it was chosen because it’s a pretty house in a popular village and the gardens are a real draw, it’s more like parkland. But they never moved in.”