Prince Andrew is facing pressure from British politicians to give up his lifelong possession of a grand mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have lived at the Royal Lodge for more than 20 years on a lease that is set to expire in 2078.
But an unredacted version of the leasehold agreement, obtained by British outlets on Tuesday, shows he is only required to pay a nominal annual rental fee on Royal Lodge, known as "peppercorn" rent.
Prince Andrew's living situation has been under a microscope since King Charles cut him off financially and made moves to kick him out of the stately home.
The dispute between the monarch and his brother spilled over into the British press, where it became known as the siege of Royal Lodge.
At the time, royal biographer Andrew Lownie noted that "Charles can see it doesn't look good" for his brother to be living in the mansion on Windsor grounds given his status as one of the "most unpopular figures in Britain".
But a combination of tabloid pressure and negotiation saved Andrew and Sarah from eviction.
Now a swirling nexus of bad press over the prince's connections to late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his alleged involvement in a Chinese spy case and the release of the memoir of his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, has heightened scrutiny of the arrangement.
"The optics on this aren't good and Charles can see that, the rest of the royal family can see that, the country can see it," Lownie told the ABC.
"But unfortunately Prince Andrew can't."
British ministers and senior politicians are now among those calling for the prince to be forced out of the lodge.
But could it happen?
Prince Andrew in the Royal Lodge
Prince Andrew made no secret of his desire to live in the Royal Lodge once it became available upon the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
The 30-room mansion, which features seven bedrooms, security accommodation and a so-called "gothic saloon", has long been a favourite among the royal family's collection of homes. But it does not technically belong to the Windsors.
The lodge is part of the Crown Estate, a collection of real estate and land worth 15 billion British pounds ($27 billion) that is overseen by an independent body.
Prince Andrew made arrangements with his mother and the Crown Estate in 2003 to lease the property.
It has been reported that the Crown Estate had considered Prince Andrew's lease as a paying tenant as financially preferable to using it as a "grace and favour" residence for the royal family.
And given its proximity to other royal residences, Prince Andrew was viewed as a preferable tenant to the "wider market" in terms of security.
While the agreement has long been criticised as being favourable to the prince, the Crown Estate concluded that the deal was "appropriate".
What has Prince Andrew paid?
The leasehold agreement shows that Prince Andrew is only required to pay the Crown Estate rent of "one peppercorn (if demanded) per annum".
This is a symbolic payment and effectively means that Prince Andrew is living in the Royal Lodge rent free.
But as a condition of his tenancy, Andrew is expected to pay for all the upkeep of the mansion, which is more than 300 years old, for as long as he lives there.
This includes maintaining the exterior stonework every five years and painting the interior every seven years.
It was also estimated that the property needed 5 million British pounds in renovations when Prince Andrew first moved in, according to the National Audit Office.
However, the royal told the Crown Estate he needed to spend more than this sum to fix the house.
The NAO said the refurbishments to the Royal Lodge ended up costing Prince Andrew more than 7.5 million British pounds.
Along with funding the renovations, the prince also made a one-off payment of 1 million British pounds for the lease.
The large, lump-sum payments — for the lease and the renovations — total an initial outlay of approximately 8.5 million British pounds.
This is equivalent to 113,000 British pounds per year, if Prince Andrew or a member of his family remained in the property for 75 years.
It had been reported the prince, in making these upfront payments, was buying himself out of future rent obligations for the duration of the 75-year lease.
However, the Times reported that it was believed that Prince Andrew was making rental payments on top of the renovation costs.
It had previously been understood he had paid 1 million British pounds for the lease, as well as a "notional rent" of 260,000 British pounds per year from 2003, on top of committing to fund refurbishment of the property worth 7.5 million British pounds.
Can he be kicked out?
Last week, Prince Andrew announced he had given up his royal titles and membership of the Order of the Garter after concluding that the "continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family".
It was widely believed he was pushed to do so by King Charles and Prince William.
But the prince's critics believe more should be done, particularly as public patience with the king's brother wears thin.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she believed people should "pay their way" when asked whether Prince Andrew should be permitted to remain in the Royal Lodge.
Conservative MP Robert Jenrick said Prince Andrew had "behaved disgracefully".
"He should really now leave public life forever, stop having any subsidy from the taxpayer whatsoever and go and lead an entirely private life," he said.
"The public are sick of Prince Andrew and the damage that he's done to the reputation of our royal family and this country."
Despite the mounting pressure, Prince Andrew's Royal Lodge agreement states he cannot be evicted before the 75 year lease is up.
But if he chooses to leave before he has lived there 25 years, he is entitled to be compensated for the amount he paid to renovate the stately home.
The amount decreases annually and since the royal has lived at the mansion for more than 22 years, the money he would get back is a lot smaller than his initial outlay.
At the current rate, about 186,000 British pounds for each remaining year until 2028.
If he were to leave this year, it means he would be owed a total of 558,000 British pounds.
