King pays Andrew's £1.5m repair bill on Royal Lodge

Mountbatten-Windsor left his Royal Lodge home in February, in the middle of a storm of revelations about his connections to the US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The former Prince Andrew was moved to Sandringham, with his brother the King using his own money to provide his upkeep and accommodation.

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested later that month on suspicion of misconduct in public office - and a court ruling on Thursday found fault with the search warrants used by the police.

But despite moving to Sandringham, Mountbatten-Windsor's lease on Royal Lodge had remained until October - and as that officially ends, the Crown Estate is revealing the terms on which it concluded.

When Andrew had taken on the 75 year lease in 2003, he had made considerable up-front payments, including about £7.5m for repairs, which meant that he did not have to pay a monthly rent.

It also meant that if he gave up the lease within the first 25 years he would be legally entitled to some compensation - with that amount reducing each year.

Leaving in October 2026 would have meant that the Crown Estate would have had to pay him back about £302,000.

However that amount has been overshadowed by what he owes to the landlord for the state of the building - and so the Crown Estate says it has now received a net amount of £1.5m.

It's understood that the payment of that money by the King is to avoid leaving the Crown Estate out of pocket.

Whether Mountbatten-Windsor will repay his brother is said to be a private matter - and there are no further details of what this might say about Andrew's personal finances.

There was also no comment on how the King feels about this arrangement - and there is said to be no connection between this payment and the King making clear this week that his financial support should not go to cover Andrew's legal costs in his battle over search warrants.

It has so far not been decided how the 30-room mansion in Windsor will be used in future, but it is expected to be used to deliver a commercial return - and at present there are no plans for another royal occupant.

"The lease for Royal Lodge has ended and our focus now is firmly on its future use and the opportunities to generate additional financial value for the nation from its early return," said a Crown Estate spokesperson.

A report by the National Audit Office had revealed earlier this year that Mountbatten-Windsor had been sub-letting buildings at Royal Lodge, although the amount was never revealed.

That report from the public spending watchdog also showed that Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, had accommodation inside royal palaces which they did not pay for, with the cost being covered privately by the King.