Former Prince Andrew awarded compensation after surrendering his Windsor mansion lease early

Open this photo in gallery:Britain’s King Charles stripped Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, as the royal family sought distance from the Epstein scandal.Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated PressAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, has benefited from £302,000 in compensation after he was forced to end his mansion lease early over revelations about his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, Charles stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, as the royal family sought distance from the Epstein scandal. Mountbatten-Windsor was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has denied any wrongdoing. Britain’s Crown Estate, which manages King Charles’ public property, said on Friday that Mountbatten-Windsor had surrendered the lease on Royal Lodge more than 50 years early, entitling him to £302,000 in compensation. Under the terms of the lease, Mountbatten-Windsor also paid £1.8-million to fund repairs needed on the property, but the compensation reduced that bill to £1.5-million, the Crown Estate said in a statement. Andrew had already spent £7.5-million on refurbishing the 30-room property when he first moved in over 20 years ago.Search warrants used to seize property from former Prince Andrew were unlawful, judge says“The lease for Royal Lodge has ended and our focus now is firmly on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its early return,” a spokesperson for The Crown Estate said. British police on Thursday said warrants they secured to search properties linked to Mountbatten-Windsor had been issued unlawfully and must be quashed, but added that their investigation following his arrest was ongoing.Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets their friendship.Amid heightened scrutiny of royal finances, a Buckingham Palace source said this week that the former prince had been told that money provided from private funds by the king should not be used to fund his legal challenge.