Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, Royal Family, Virginia Giuffre, UK News
People have been left gobsmacked after discovering just how little Andrew Windsor was forking out each year to live in his lavish Windsor mansion before being stripped of all his royal titles.
Last week, King Charles stripped his younger brother of all his royal titles and honours, as well as his 'prince' title, following shocking allegations made against him by Virginia Guiffre, a trafficking victim of the late Jeffrey Epstein.
"His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew," the Royal Family said in a statement.
It was also confirmed that the disgraced royal is to leave his residence, with the statement continuing: "His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
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"Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."
Andrew had a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge - a sprawling, 30-room property sitting pretty in Windsor Great Park, which he rented for 'one peppercorn' annually.
The unusual arrangement dates back centuries, when peppercorns were valuable and often used as a token payment to make property deals legally valid.
These days, it’s basically the same as paying a dollar to keep the paperwork legitimate - though it’s unlikely Andrew ever rocked up to Buckingham Palace each year with a tiny black seed in hand.
In fact, the actual arrangement was a symbolic 'one peppercorn (if demanded)' per year - which is worthless to a family worth billions of dollars.
According to The Times, Andrew paid £1 million ($1.3 million) upfront for the lease and spent another £7.5 million ($9.75 million) on refurbishments. In exchange, he’s had the run of the mansion for over two decades - until King Charles decided enough was enough.
People have since shared their shock and bemusement on social media.
"I thought this was some sort of British euphemism for 'not a lot of money'. But no, he’s actually paying rent with a single peppercorn," one user wrote on Reddit.
Another joked: "Where can I rent a mansion for a peppercorn?"
With a third adding: "If he were my brother and I were king, I'd have thrown him to the wolves by now."
It all comes in the wake of renewed scrutiny over Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, which once again thrust Andrew’s alleged connections to Epstein into the spotlight.
Giuffre alleged she was paid to have sex with the prince when she was 17. She died by suicide at her home in Australia in April this year at 41, just before her memoir Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice came out.
In the book, she claims that she met Prince Andrew in March 2001 before being pressured by Ghislaine Maxwell to 'do for him what you do for Jeffrey'.
"The next morning, Maxwell told me: 'You did well. The prince had fun'," Giuffre wrote, adding that Epstein paid her $15,000.
Andrew continues to vehemently deny all allegations.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
