Surprising details of the rent paid by Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie for their spectacular residence have been released by the British media, with one outlet calling the amount the King's youngest brother pays as a peppercorn.
Hello! said peppercorn rent is a a term used to describe a small, nominal rent, such as one peppercorn, to satisfy a legal requirement for a contract to be binding.
The outlet citing a report from The Times reported "according to the terms of Edward’s lease extension, signed in 2007 with his company, Eclipse Nominees Limited, "he paid £5 million upfront for a lease of 150 years, but pays only a peppercorn rent."
Hello! reported that The Duke of Edinburgh leased the 51-acre Bagshot Park " for 50 years for £5,000 a year in March 1998. The sum later went up to £90,000 a year - described by the National Audit Office as "market value" - after Edward paid £1.36 million to help renovate the property, with the Crown Estate covering the rest of the £3 million refurbishment costs."
"The Ministry of Defence returned the site to the Crown Estate in 1996, attracting two commercial proposals - one for a conference facility and another for hotel conversion - both rejected before the Estate opted to lease the property to Edward."
The report added "As the Land Registry report was heavily redacted, it made it "impossible to establish" whether he continued to pay a market rent."
"There are no conditions set on the further sale of Edward's lease, beyond that the new tenant could afford the property's maintenance, meaning that Edward could profit from its sale."
The report comes as royal family is trying to shift media attention away from the recent scandal involving Andrew-Mountbatten Windsor, who lost his remaining royal titles over links to former sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles also asked his younger brother to vacate Royal Lodge for which Andrew had a similar deal.
Meanwhile, quoting insiders, a British journalist claimed that when King Charles removed Andrew's titles and ordered him to vacate the property, Princess Anne and Prince Edward said the monarch was going to harsh on their other sibling.
