Prince Andrew, a British royal, could be entitled to millions of pounds in compensation if he is forced to leave his 31-room palace.
After settling with his sex assault accuser Virginia Giuffre this week for £12 million, the Duke of York, 61, has faced calls to leave his opulent Royal Lodge house.
However, documents obtained by The Sun suggest that if he leaves the 31-bed Windsor mansion, he is entitled to up to £7 million.
When Andrew moved into the Queen Mother’s former residence in 2003, he paid just £1 million for a 75-year lease.
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The Royal Lodge, which boasts a swimming pool that Andrew built as part of a £7.5 million remodel, is currently worth roughly £30 million on the open market.
It is set in 40 hectares of woodland and manicured lawns, almost the size of 75 football pitches.
Royal expert Margaret Holder said: “The compensation would give Andrew a potential source of funding to repay loans to the Queen and anybody else who would lend him the money.
“If he were to move to another smaller, more modest and more distant property, he wouldn’t be seen quite so often and would be a greater distance from.
A 2005 National Audit Office report states Andrew cannot “gain financially from any increase in the value of the property” and if he leaves, it reverts to the Crown estate
The report adds he would receive “compensation in respect of the refurbishment costs”.
“The maximum compensation of just under £7million is subject to annual reductions over the first 25 years of the lease, so that at the end of that period, there is nil compensation payable.”
