A King's ransom: Questions over boss of the Crown Estate as pay quintuples to £2.3million in seven years amid value for money row

By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:32, 14 July 2026 | Updated: 00:37, 14 July 2026 The head of the King's property portfolio squirmed in front of MPs on Monday as he struggled to justify his £2.3million pay packet. Dan Labbad became chief executive of the Crown Estate - managing the monarch's land and property across England and Wales - in 2019. He started on a salary of £517,000, and as he was grilled on Monday by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), it emerged that this figure has almost quintupled. The inquiry into the Crown Estate follows a report which revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received private income from subletting three cottages on his Royal Lodge estate - all while paying a peppercorn rent himself. It comes after he was stripped of his titles over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and forced to vacate his home and move into Marsh Farm on the King's Sandringham estate, in Norfolk. The Crown Estate - which also manages seabed around the UK - reported £1.2billion in profit for the last financial year, most of which came from offshore wind. A portion of its earnings are returned to the Treasury, which uses the funds for public spending. Meanwhile, a percentage is paid to the Sovereign Grant, which supports the official duties of the Royal Family. Dan Labbad, who became chief executive of the Crown Estate in 2019, has seen his pay rise fivefold in seven years The Crown Estate manages King Charles's land and property across England and Wales In the last financial year, £487million was returned to the Treasury. From this, £132million was paid to the King - up from £86.3million the year before. The Crown Estate has come under scrutiny in recent years over whether it brings value for money. Grilling Mr Labbad on Monday, Clive Betts, the Labour MP for Sheffield South East, pointed out that the company's administrative expenses had risen from £70million to £88million in the last financial year. He added: 'Most people would look at [your salary] and think "My pay's not gone up that much, it's just about kept pace with inflation". What's so special about this job?' The Australian businessman - who in the same session stressed it was important to build 'a lean but effective ship' - said it wouldn't be appropriate to comment, but Mr Betts persisted. 'I can't think of many public sector jobs where the pay has increased by five times in the last six or seven years,' he said. 'Would you manage to persuade us that your workload in both amount and difficulty has changed a lot since 2019?' 'That's a matter for others,' Mr Labbad said. 'I can't comment on difficulty or comparable comparisons to what has happened previously.' Baffled, Mr Betts asked: 'You can't tell us about your job?' Labour MP Clive Betts grilled Mr Labbad at the Public Accounts Committee on Monday, asking the chief executive what was 'so special' about his job The Crown Estate is a £16billion portfolio which includes Windsor Castle (pictured), close to Royal Lodge, where Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was able to live while paying peppercorn rent Andrew's leasehold agreement revealed he paid a £1million premium for the 75-year lease in 2003, and for the next two decades was required to pay 'one peppercorn' of rent 'if demanded', per year. He also paid £7.5million for refurbishments, which were completed in 2005. Speaking about how these conditions were agreed, Mr Labbad said: 'The Crown Estate went through all appropriate processes to determine what provided best value at the time. 'In the case of Royal Lodge - the £7.5million in refurbishment costs - we were able to take that money and invest in other things. 'The best lease included a premium, with [Andrew paying] refurbishment costs, and it enabled the tenant to sublet a number of small cottages on what is otherwise a vast estate.' James Chalmers, an official from the Royal Household, said it expects to receive the property in October, and that it is 'working through different options' for what to do with it. As Royal Lodge is part of the Windsor Estate it cannot be sold and will have to be re-let. The amount Andrew earned through subletting has not yet been disclosed. However, Mr Chalmers told MPs: 'We can get it'.