It has been revealed that The Prince and Princess of Wales pay £307,500 in yearly rent on Forest Lodge, their home in Windsor.
In July of last year, William and Catherine signed a 20-year lease on Forest Lodge, making an official move in November 2025 from their previous residence, nearby Adelaide Cottage.
The reason for the move came as a need for a fresh start, as the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage is where the family resided for much of Kate’s cancer journey. The much larger, eight-bedroom, Grade II listed £21 million Georgian mansion has been referred to as the family’s ‘forever home,’ hoping to extend the lease in the future.
Their £300k rent made public
Official documents filed with the Land Registry on 15th May – and shared by The Times – show that the Prince and Princess are listed as owners of the Forest Lodge lease, which includes the main house and two cottages within the grounds.
It was a mutual decision with the couple and Crown Estate to make the figure public.
The future King and Queen are paying nearly £100,000 more than its last tenants, Alexander Fitzgibbons and Swedish businesswoman, Cristina Stenbeck, who signed a tenancy in 2019, paying £216,000 per year, or £18,000 per month.
The new figure of £307,500 (£25,600 per month) was reached by a commercial valuation process by three independent property firms, which assessed and advised on an appropriate market-rate rent.
The costs for Forest Lodge are privately funded by the couple, as opposed to using taxpayer funds or peppercorn agreements.
It was recently revealed that William pays income tax of between £5 and £7 million on his annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
The Duchy of Cornwall, a 135,000-acre estate, has historically funded the Prince of Wales since 1337, with William legally inheriting the title and estate in 2022 upon his father’s accession.
This is the first time William and Catherine’s annual rent has been made publicly available; the agreement to make the figure public information is a shift towards better transparency amid scrutiny over royal finances, especially concerning the Crown Estate and recent revelations over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ‘peppercorn’ rent on Royal Lodge.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ‘Peppercorn’ Rent
Prior to his eviction following continued ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the former Prince Andrew resided at Royal Lodge in Windsor for 22 years, signing a 75-year lease in 2003.
Instead of paying rent annually, he paid £8.5 million upfront, with £7.5 million going towards refurbishing the property. His upfront commitment covered approximately £113,000 per year in rent, paid to The Crown Estate.
In the two decades he lived at Royal Lodge, Andrew paid a notional ‘peppercorn’ rent on the property – a small cash or symbolic payment that isn’t demanded or paid.
The Public Accounts Committee launches an inquiry
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has since launched an inquiry into The Crown Estate, relating to royal leases. The inquiry will also look to update their 2005 report, the Crown Estate – Property Leases with the Royal Family, which concluded that the leases were financially favourable, as members of the Royal Family paid for restorations and property upkeep themselves.
As a need for more transparency, the new report will examine if the Crown Estate is still acting according to an act of 1961, which outlined how it should operate to protect public value.
