Prince William is reportedly planning on tightening the rules around royal properties when he is King.
The Prince of Wales, 43, will ‘do things differently’ when he inherits the throne and is said to be considering banning the subletting of homes.
According to The Sunday Times, he also intends to stop non-working royals from living rent-free in palaces.
Reviewing the official use of royal residences and his family’s living arrangements are said to be priorities for William.
A recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sublet three cottages on his former Windsor home, Royal Lodge, despite only paying peppercorn rent himself.
Princess Beatrice and Eugenie have also never paid rent for their homes at St. James’s Palace and Kensington Palace, despite both working and having husbands with successful careers.
Their rent is covered by the King’s private funds and charged at a discounted rate of about 40 per cent below market value.
Concern over optics
The Prince of Wales is said to be concerned over the optics of non-working royals benefitting from rent-free living arrangements.
William recently made public the terms of his lease at Forest Lodge, Windsor, where he and the Princess of Wales intend to continue living when they are King and Queen.
© Andrew Parsons / Kensington PalaThey pay £307,500 in rent per year for the 18th century mansion, £100,000 more than the previous tenants. There is also a clause in the lease preventing the sub-letting of three cottages on the Forest Lodge grounds.
A source said William is ‘mindful of how much the monarchy costs’ and will be ‘hands on’ in restructuring to cut costs.
Annual review
The King will continue to annually review the living and rental arrangements of members of the royal family at royal residences.
Sources told the publication that under Charles’ reign, rent on Beatrice and Eugenie’s homes has risen 68 per cent and 64 per cent of market value, respectively.
© WireImageIn a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “We are grateful to the National Audit Office for this report, which is in line with the royal household’s commitment to transparency. We hope that the findings will help correct, clarify or contextualise a number of points regarding royal properties.
“As the report notes, arrangements for properties managed by the royal household vary based on a number of factors to ensure residences are filled appropriately, depending on their location, tenants and purpose.”
HELLO! has also contacted Kensington Palace for comment.
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