Prince Edward and Sophie have allegedly made thousands by subletting stables (left) while paying ‘peppercorn’ rent for the Surrey estate (Picture: Shutterstock)
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s letting side hustle on the Crown Estate, reportedly earning them £130,000 a year, has caused an uproar.
The royal couple are reportedly subletting a converted stable on the grounds of the £30 million Bagshot Park estate.
Located some 400 yards from the Surrey manor, the stables are on the market as office space for £10,834 a month, the Sun reports.
The profits, mounting to around £130,000 a year, have allegedly gone to Prince Edward and Sophie instead of the taxpayers, despite the couple only paying ‘peppercorn’ rent for the estate.
Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, 62, King Charles’ youngest brother, has lived at Bagshot Park for over 25 years with his wife Sophie (Picture: Zoe Head-Thomas/PA Wire)
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A former minister labelled the arrangements ‘outrageous.’
Norman Baker, Lib Dem former Home Affairs minister, told the Sun: ‘Any money raised from those stables should only be going to one place — the Crown Estate.
‘Crown Estate profits go directly to the Treasury, so it is the taxpayer who is losing out here.
‘It provides a very stable income, and on top of paying virtually nothing for Bagshot Park they are raking in a whole lot more money from other sources.
An aerial view shows the Bagshot Park manor, which is the royal residence for Prince Edward and Sophie, and located some 400 yards from the converted stables (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It’s an outrage they pay a peppercorn rent as it is and now Edward and Sophie are free to rake in £130,000 for a stable block as part of the deal. It is outrageous.
‘The Public Accounts Committee should honour its part of the investigation and take into account leases and see which are unnecessary and unjustified when ordinary people are struggling to pay bills.’
It is thought that the stables were taken off the market around December after being empty since October, and are being refurbished for letting again this summer, according to the Sun.
An aerial view shows the converted stables, which are currently not rented to anyone, with Bagshot Park manor visible in the top right corner
A royal source told Metro: ‘The property in question is not rented to any tenant and it is not on the market.’
So-called peppercorn rents are seen as an approach that is consistent with standard market practice for long-leasehold residential properties when large capital investment is made instead of market rent, Metro understands.
In December, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a government expenditure watchdog, started questioning the financing of royal homes.
So-called peppercorn rents paid by royals were thrown under scrutiny following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s living arrangements at the Royal Lodge.
The disgraced former prince had paid only nominal rent while living at the Windsor Royal Lodge estate for more than 20 years, most of it with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Andrew, who moved from the sprawling 30-room manor into more modest lodgings in the Sandringham estate earlier this year, had reportedly paid a ‘small sum such as £1,’ according to the BBC.
The PAC said its investigation into royal rents would be to ‘secure value for money for the taxpayer.’
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