King Charles paid Andrew’s £1.5mil repair bill for former Windsor mansion

Royal Lodge in Windsor, formerly the official country residence of Britain’s Prince Andrew and his family. (EPA Images pic) LONDON: Britain's King Charles III privately loaned his brother, disgraced former prince Andrew, £1.5 million (US$2 million) to cover repair costs to his former residence, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

The king last year ousted the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, from the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate near London over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, 66, was stripped of his royal titles, and moved to a smaller house on the monarch's Sandringham Estate in eastern England while Charles continues to support him .

The Crown Estate, an independent, commercial business that oversees royal property and hands profits to the government, said Andrew paid £1.8 million to cover repairs needed to the Royal Lodge after he moved out.

He received compensation of 302,000 (US$400,000) for exiting his lease, reducing the total due to 1.5 million pounds, which The Crown Estate said it received.

A person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP the king made funds available from his private income as a loan to ensure The Crown Estate was paid promptly.

The king earns personal income from private estates as well as other sources such as art, investments and private savings.

This is separate from the funding he receives from the government, which can only be used for official royal business.

The Times broadsheet wrote: "It is not known how Andrew intends to repay the King, given his lack of independent income."

Andrew had paid a one-million-pound "premium" to lease the Royal Lodge in 2003, agreeing to spend £7.5 million on improvements to secure a 75-year lease on a peppercorn rent.

This summer the National Audit Office revealed that Andrew had been earning a private income for more than two decades by subletting three cottages on the Royal Lodge's grounds.

The Crown Estate said Friday it was now considering the property's "potential future use", aiming to "generate additional financial value" from its early return.

Police searched the Royal Lodge in February while investigating Andrew's alleged misconduct in office, related to Epstein.

Andrew has denied all wrongdoing in his ties to the disgraced financier.

On Thursday, he won a legal challenge after police agreed the search warrants they obtained were "unlawful".

The King gives Andrew money to spend from his private funds but did not allow him to use it on legal challenge, British media reported.