LONDON (AP) — King Charles III paid 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) to cover fees owed by the the former Prince Andrew, his younger brother, after being forced to leave a Crown-owned home near Windsor Castle because of his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles loaned the money to his brother, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, from his private income to ensure the Crown estate was paid on time, a person familiar with the payment said on Friday.
The revelation came after the Crown Estate, which manages Crown properties, said Mountbatten-Windsor was charged £1.8 million due to the dilapidated state of the property and received a credit of £302,000 as compensation for the early termination of its lease. This left him with a debt of £1.5 million, which the king paid.
The Crown Estate released the figures on Friday, announcing that Mountbatten-Windsor had entirely vacated the Royal Lodge, a 30-room stately home surrounded by parkland near Windsor Castle, west of London. He personally left the lodge in February.
The Crown Estate is an independent company established by Parliament to manage a large portfolio of properties throughout the United Kingdom which is nominally owned by the sovereign during his or her lifetime but operated for the benefit of taxpayers.
“The lease of the Royal Lodge has ended and we are now firmly focused on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its rapid return,” the Crown Estate said in a statement.
Charles stripped his brother of his princely title and ordered her to leave Royal Lodge last year as the monarch sought to protect the rest of the royal family from the ongoing scandal of Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with Epstein. The move comes as the US Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents from its investigation into Epstein, revealing previously unknown details about his ties to the former prince.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s continued residence at Royal Lodge was a particularly sensitive issue for many people because he paid no rent for the house and the surrounding 99.5 acres (40.3 hectares).
The former prince signed a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge in 2003, when he was still a working member of the royal family, attending public events on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and serving as Britain’s special trade representative. The lease required Mountbatten-Windsor to spend £7.5 million renovating the property and make a one-off payment of £1 million.
Mountbatten-Windsor was entitled to compensation for renovation costs if it gave up the lease within the first 25 years, the Crown Estate said.
Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, gave up his role as commercial envoy in 2011 and stepped back from all royal duties in 2019 due to concerns over his relationship with Epstein.
After leaving Royal Lodge in February, Mountbatten-Windsor moved to a house on the Sandringham Estate in eastern Englandwhich belongs to the king.
Days later, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations that he provided sensitive information to Epstein while serving as a special trade envoy. Police questioned the former prince for 11 hours and conducted searches at the Royal Lodge and his new home in Sandringham.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing related to her relationship with Epstein.
A High Court judge on Thursday announced that lawyers for Thames Valley Police and Mountbatten-Windsor had agreed that the warrants authorizing the searches were unlawful. Further legal proceedings will determine what evidence discovered during the searches will be excluded from any potential prosecution.
Thames Valley Police, which covers the area around Windsor, said their investigation was continuing.
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