According to a royal insider, Prince Andrew is steadfast in his refusal to leave his Royal Lodge home, despite being offered Frogmore Cottage by King Charles. The source disclosed that the Duke had received the keys to Frogmore Cottage two months ago but allowed his youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, to stay there during her visits with the family, according to The Express.
King Charles aims to restructure the royal households in an effort to modernize and streamline the monarchy while also cutting costs in the royal budget.
Originally, it was reported that Prince Andrew would move into Frogmore Cottage after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were asked to vacate the property in January.
However, the Duke, who has resided in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park since 2003, shows no signs of relenting. The source told OK! magazine, "Andrew is adamant that he is staying at Royal Lodge for the remainder of his lease."
The source continued, "He will not move into Frogmore without a fight. Royal Lodge is his home and he will do everything in his power to remain in the property."
"Prince Andrew was given the keys to Frogmore quite recently and was expected to move in this summer," the source added. "Eugenie is currently staying there to help move out Harry and Meghan's things while her dad tries to hold on to Royal Lodge."
While Prince Harry and Meghan were surprised by their eviction, they have accepted the decision and started moving their belongings out of the house.
The insider remarked, "Prince Harry and Meghan's eviction seems a bit pointless really because there will now be an empty property on the Windsor estate which seems counterintuitive to the King's new plans for cutting costs."
The Queen gifted the cottage to the Sussexes after their wedding, and they kept the property as their UK base even after moving to California in 2020. The couple spent £2.4 million renovating Frogmore, but one royal expert believes they will struggle to recoup the funds.
Jennie Bond told OK!, "I do wonder what's going to happen to the £2.4m that was paid by the taxpayer and Harry and Meghan paid it back, so essentially it's a bit more punishment."
