Andrew to give up lease on remaining Crown Estate property where rent costs £13k-a-year

King Charles reportedly ordered his brother out of Royal Lodge, part of the Crown Estate, earlier than expected after the new backlash from the Epstein Files.

But the disgraced former prince had managed to cling onto East Lodge, a Grade II-listed cottage located near his former home, Sunninghill Park, in Berkshire.

The single-storey cottage is understood to have been used as staff accommodation with annual rent costing nearly £13,000.

Now, the Crown Estate has admitted an application has been made to “consider an early termination of the lease”.

East Lodge is a thatched 19th-century cottage near the much larger Sunninghill Park, where Andrew lived until he moved to Royal Lodge in 2004.

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The sale of Sunninghill Park in 2007 for £15 million sparked controversy after it was snatched up by the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's president for £3 million above the asking price.

East Lodge is located between Windsor and Ascot and has remained a separate arrangement between the former prince and the Crown Estate.

It is also part of the Crown Estate, which is facing an inquiry from MPs into how the properties are managed and whether they provide value for money for taxpayers.

Lease documents reveal Andrew took over the tenancy of East Lodge in February 1998, forking out an initial £3,500 annual rent to the Crown Estate.

The rent went up with inflation and surged to £8,047 per year by 2020 as part of an agreement that lasted over a decade following the sale of Sunninghill.

The charges were reviewed last summer, with the rent then rising to £12,922, reports claim.

Andrew appeared to carry on renting East Lodge as he came under intense pressure over the Epstein Files and gave up the Royal Lodge tenancy.

The most recent term of the lease was thought to have been due to end in July 2027.

It will now be terminated early. However, the exact date will depend on arrangements for those living in the house when Andrew is no longer involved.

Andrew also formerly held another lease for North Lodge, on the same estate, for a member of staff. The cottage is now being let to a third party after the lease was given up following two decades of ownership.

The Crown Estate is a vast portfolio of land and property and belongs the monarch “that reigns.

However, it is not their private property and is run as an independent business, with the Treasury collecting the profits.

A proportion of the money – called the Sovereign Grant – is then given to Royal Family to support the official duties it carries out.

The Crown Estate has confirmed that Andrew planned to surrender the lease on East Lodge.

The King stripped his younger brother of his remaining royal titles and forced him to surrender the lease at Royal Lodge as Andrew's ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were laid bare by the US Department of Justice.

The Windsor property was searched by police last week in connection with an investigation into the offence of misconduct in public office by Thames Valley Police. 

The former Duke of York was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on his 66th birthday last month. 

He was kept in custody for 11 hours before being released under investigation.

Despite being stripped of his title last year, the former Duke of York is still eighth in line to the throne, and an Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew and prevent him from ever becoming King.

Removal trucks were seen departing Royal Lodge residence last month as the disgraced former duke moved out. Andrew remained out of sight on Wednesday as a series of white vans and lorries departed the gates of the Royal Lodge in Windsor in the direction of the royals' Sandringham Estate.

The impending arrival of Andrew turned a usually quiet lane in the village of Wolferton, by St Peter's church, into a gridlocked road lined with parked cars, as a helicopter hovered overhead.

It is understood that Andrew's new home, close to Marsh Farm, is not fully ready, with the royal expected to move in by the start of April.

It comes as police continue to investigate claims that an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein was sent to the UK for a sexual encounter with Andrew in 2010.

Lawyers representing the alleged victim have urged King Charles to contact them following the claims.

The woman is not British and was in her 20s at the time of the alleged incident.

She claims she spent the night with Andrew before being given a "tour" of Buckingham Palace the next day.

Meanwhile, the shamed former prince has been evicted from the 30-room Windsor mansion after it was agreed that he would leave last year.