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Prince Andrew should lose his palace home, which only costs him around £250 a week to rent, or be made to pay the market rate for it, according to a former member of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

The Duke of York, 59, lives in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor, which he agreed a 75-year lease on in 2003 after making a one-off payment of £1million to the Crown Estate - equating to payment of around £250 a week.

He was forced to give up frontline royal duties after what has been widely described as a 'car crash' interview with BBC presenter Emily Maitlis last month, in which he was grilled over his his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Chris Evans, a former member of Westminster watchdog the Public Accounts Committee, is urging MPS to launch a probe into the embattled prince's finances.

This could put his £13million Swiss ski lodge that he bought with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson under the spotlight.

(Image: Roland Hoskins/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)

Speaking to the Sunday Express, he said "serious questions” needed to be asked about the prince’s “fabulous income”.

“I think [the lease] should be looked at and it should be put at market rate – £250 a week for that type of place is very small beer.

“I hope that in the next Parliament, whoever the members of the new Public Accounts Committee are, they will look at that forthwith.

“Serious questions have to be asked about where Prince Andrew’s wealth comes from. "

Mr Evans, who is standing for reelection as the Labour MP for Islwyn in South Wales, added: "the books need to be opened" and the "prince needs to start telling people where this fabulous income is coming from".

Andrew’s 99-acre estate in Windsor Great Park is the former home of the Queen Mother and includes several other cottages.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

According to a 2005 National Audit Office report, the lease was not offered up to the wider market because of its “sensitive location”.

The reported stated that “security concerns surrounding the Royal Family’s access to the Royal Chapel”, also prevented it from being put on the market.

It also stated if Andrew terminated the lease within the first 25 years, the Crown Estate could be required to compensate him for any money he has spent refurbishing the property, which had exceeded £7.5million.

The Crown Estate thought it was “appropriate” for the property to remain within the Royal Family, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for the Duke of York said: “We do not comment on private matters regarding members of the Royal Family.”

Pressure has been mounting on the duke in the wake of his BBC Newsnight interview.

He faced criticism for showing a lack of empathy towards Epstein's victims and a lack of remorse over his friendship with the financier, who took his own life while in prison earlier this year awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

This has led to a growing number of businesses, universities and charities distancing themselves from him.