Prince William Is Being Transparent About One Decision Because He Knows "How Terrible" the Optics Are With Some of His Family
The Prince of Wales is trying to avoid the "secrecy in the past."
When it was revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was only paying a peppercorn rent (meaning a small, symbolic amount) on Royal Lodge, other members of the Royal Family came under scrutiny for their own housing arrangements. Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie also have a peppercorn arrangement on Bagshot Park, but when it came time for Prince William and Princess Kate to move to their new home, the future King and Queen made sure that the public knew they were paying their fair share.
Speaking on Hello! magazine’s “A Right Royal Podcast,” royal editor Emily Nash weighed in on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s decision to pay even more rent than the last tenant at their "forever home," Forest Lodge.
Noting that “there’s been so much secrecy in the past” about the “peppercorn rent issue,” Nash said that “William understands absolutely how terrible this looks.”
Prince William and his family moved into Forest Lodge in autumn 2025.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was evicted from Royal Lodge earlier this year. After the negative attention that his uncle’s rent arrangement put on the Royal Family, Nash said that Prince William is more careful than ever that his own arrangements are above criticism.
According to the Times, official documents revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales are paying £307,500 per year to live at Forest Lodge (roughly $412,000 USD), which is £100,000 more than what the former tenants were paying. The couple signed a 20-year lease on the Georgian mansion in July 2025.
Speaking about Prince William’s standpoint on the peppercorn rent drama, Nash said that the future King is “not going to want anyone to think for a second that he’s not paying at least the market rates on things.”
This transparency is something Nash and co-host Andrea Caamano said is a big change in how the royals approach their finances. Although the palace didn't announce their rent, the fact that journalists could publicly access the documents is something Caamano called “really important, really great, really refreshing.”
