The hidden property deals Andrew has used to fund his ‘comfortable’ lifestyle

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, while isolated publicly from the Royal Family, is said to be leading a comfortable lifestyle “of the upper echelons” at Marsh Farm, his new home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He’s reportedly meeting with friends and going shooting, a favoured royal pastime. A skeleton staff – a housekeeper, a cook and a general aide – remain at the five-bedroom house in Norfolk following his downsizing from 30 rooms at Royal Lodge, his former home in Windsor. Ahead of his move this year, workmen were photographed installing CCTV and Sky, with firms specialising in fine art, carpeting and flooring also spotted at the grounds. A mobile home was also set up on the grounds, reportedly for security staff. Shorts Now, as the former prince launches a judicial review against Thames Valley Police, questions are emerging on how he is funding this lifestyle. ‘How is he paying for it?’ Mountbatten-Windsor is seeking to quash the search warrants that led to his February arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has denied all wrongdoing. The costs of a judicial review are “substantial”, and can “run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds”, Quentin Hunt, a barrister at 2BR, told The i Paper. “It may be that he has quite big legal bills, and that he is getting legal advice beyond this [judicial review],” said Dai Davies, head of Scotland Yard’s Royal Protection Command between 1994 and 1998. “So, how is he paying for it?” The former duke of York has no obvious means to foot the bills – having been stripped of a roughly £250,000 annual allowance when he stepped down from royal duties in 2019 – and his finances are shrouded in mystery. All that is certain is that he gets an Armed Forces pension from his Navy service, worth around £20,000 a year. Mountbatten-Windsor also receives an annual stipend from King Charles’s private funds, but the amount not been disclosed. A Buckingham Palace source said this week that the money should not be used to fund the judicial review. It is possible Andrew is relying on inheritance from the late Queen, along with money saved from previous business ventures and property deals, said royal commentators. It is also possible he is getting financial support from wealthy friends, they suggested. Rent money After Mountbatten-Windsor left public duty, he continued to live at a 30-room mansion at the Royal Lodge estate in Windsor until earlier this year, when he downsized to a five-bedroom house at Marsh Farm in Norfolk. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief at Majesty magazine, told The i Paper that Andrew could partly be funding his lifestyle and paying his legal bills “from the monies he received from the Royal Lodge” when he sublet three cottages at the estate. A storage van leaving Royal Lodge in February 2026. (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty) It emerged earlier this year that Andrew had been able to charge rent to staff at three cottages while paying only a “peppercorn” rent for his own mansion at Royal Lodge, thanks to a deal with the Crown Estate. Property experts previously told The i Paper that Andrew could potentially have received £180,000 a year from the sublets. A luxury cottage in an exclusive part of Berkshire could get at least £5,000 a month, according to one expert. Other sources suggested that Andrew’s subletting did not generate a net profit, and that the rent at the cottages covered only maintenance and running costs for his staff living there. The Palace should reveal how much rent Mountbatten-Windsor received at the sublet cottages, said Norman Baker, a former Liberal Democrat minister and critic of royal finances. “It’s totally ridiculous that we haven’t had the rental income details,” said Baker, author of Royal Mint: National Debt. Mountbatten-Windsor’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this piece. The Palace declined to comment. Property and inheritance from the late Queen Money from property ventures may have given Andrew significant funds to fall back on, according to royal observers. In 2007, Andrew sold his 12-bedroom Sunninghill Park home for £15m – around £3m over the asking price and an estimated £7m more than market value – to Timur Kulibayev – the son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s then-president – who has said the high price was the result of a bidding war. The property had been a wedding gift from the late Queen in 1986. An opaque trust structure allowed Andrew to keep the proceeds of the sale of Sunninghill Park, which had been originally owned by the Crown Estate, the Sunday Times reported last year. Andrew sold his Sunninghill Park home, a gift from the late Queen, in 2007 (Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty) Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, sold a Swiss chalet they co-owned for around £19m at the end of 2022, according to The Telegraph. It was the same year that Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre – who died last year – reportedly worth around £12m. She claimed she was sexually assaulted by the former prince, a claim he has consistently denied. The Telegraph reported that the late Queen helped foot her son’s legal costs from her private funds, but it has never been confirmed. The sealed will of Elizabeth II means it is also unclear whether she left Andrew any funds. “There may be some money from the late Queen’s inheritance,” said Baker. “But I’m not sure that would explain how he has funded his lifestyle.” Some money may be available from the sale of belongings. Mountbatten-Windsor’s former Bentley Flying Spur is on sale at a luxury car dealership in Doncaster for £125,000, The Times reported. Business ventures Mountbatten-Windsor was a “person of significant control” over a company called Urramoor Limited, which was described as the “private investment office” of the former duke by a South African firm that had dealings with it. The firm was dissolved in April 2025, Companies House records show. Before winding up, the venture had secured £210,000 in the form of non-redeemable shares from a mystery, undisclosed donor in December 2023. It also owed £207,000 to creditors. Pitch@Palace – a Dragons’ Den-style initiative allowing entrepreneurs to make connections with investors – was once also seen as a way for Mountbatten-Windsor to earn income. That venture ceased operations in 2019, after the prince’s disastrous Newsnight interview, and the UK arm closed in 2021 with £175,000 in capital and reserves in its final annual accounts, according to Companies House. The international arm, Pitch@Palace Global, was dissolved in February 2026, having £12,000 in capital and reserves in its final annual accounts. Andrew at a launch event for Pitch@Palace (Photo: John Stillwell / PA Archive) But it is now unlikely Andrew will be able to forge any new business ventures because of his links to Epstein, said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams. “He’s in disgrace and there’s no comeback – I wouldn’t have thought he would be able to make money,” he said – before raising the possibility he could have significant savings or backing from rich friends. “We simply don’t know what he has made from business ventures, or could be given by friends. He has made friendships of all sorts,” said Fitzwilliams. “We don’t know if wealthy friends are standing by him and helping him,” Baker said. Ferguson – who had lived with the former prince at the Royal Lodge before his exodus from Windsor – is reportedly returning to the UK after a period abroad. But she is not expected to join him at his new, smaller royal property at Marsh Farm. “It would appear there’s nothing that ties them together [financially] anymore,” said Fitzwilliams. ‘Life of the upper echelons’ It is not clear how much his costs at Mountbatten-Windsor’s new Sandringham home – including staff – are covered by the King’s stipend, and how much he funds himself. “The spin from the Palace is that he’s hidden away like a refugee,” said Baker. “But he is living comfortably, far more comfortably that most of the country.” Davies added that he was “living comfortably in a way most of population would envy – it’s the life of the upper echelons”. Andrew riding at Royal Lodge, shortly before his switch to Marsh Farm (Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters) Baker called for the Palace to explain how much Mountbatten-Windsor gets from the King and what the money is supposed to be for. “It is pathetic, pointless plea to say they’ve asked him not to use the money for legal action,” added Baker. “If he can afford to take legal action himself, then the King shouldn’t give him any money.” The Palace will continue to face questions about any signs that Mountbatten-Windsor is living in luxury, said Fitzwilliams. “He’s someone who is entitled. So it could be difficult for him to project that is living a frugal lifestyle.”