The Daily Populous Wednesday February 4th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by bbc.co.uk and submitted by ultra_phoenix

A statement from Buckingham Palace about Royal Lodge in October said "formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease".

It followed weeks of controversy over the amount of rent being paid to the Crown Estate who leased the property.

A National Audit Office report shows that when Mountbatten-Windsor took on the lease in 2003 he agreed to pay more than £8m - paying for repairs and effectively buying himself out of future rent obligations for the duration of the 75-year lease.

This deal was based on paying in advance a notional rent of £260,000 per year.

As part of the arrangement, Mountbatten-Windsor could have been entitled to £488,000 for an early surrender of his 75-year lease.

But a report from the Crown Estate for MPs on the public spending watchdog says the property is in need of so many repairs that in "all likelihood" he "will not be owed any compensation".

Royal sources told the BBC in October that Mountbatten-Windsor's move would be delayed until the new year to avoid the embarrassment of him being in Sandringham at Christmas - where the Royal Family traditionally gathers for the festive season.

Sandringham was bought in 1862 by the then Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII, as a private country retreat.

The historic, sprawling estate spans approximately 31 sq miles (80 sq km) of gardens - making it around the same size as Nottingham.

IKillZombies4Cash on February 3rd, 2026 at 22:52 UTC »

Andrew can do us all a solid by fessing up and dragging down all the other rich clowns who he knows were in on this

citrusco on February 3rd, 2026 at 22:45 UTC »

the moral outrage collectively felt, both for the victims of abuse, and the clear injustice of not following through with any punitive measures whatsoever, cannot possibly be sustained at just below boiling point.

JustinSane79 on February 3rd, 2026 at 22:36 UTC »

Put him in prison ffs