The British royal family is grappling with yet another internal feud, as the relationship between King Charles and his younger brother, Prince Andrew, has become "very, very bitter" over the Duke of York's refusal to leave his home, Royal Lodge. According to royal experts, the tension between the two brothers has reached a level that rivals the well-publicized rift between Prince William and Prince Harry.
The monarch, 75, has been attempting to evict Andrew, 64, from the 30-room property on the grounds of Windsor Castle for the past 18 months. The disgraced duke, who shares the home with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, will never return to public duty after paying millions to settle an abuse case with a Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim. As the Royal Lodge falls into disrepair, King Charles has been increasingly pressuring his brother to vacate the premises.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told The Mirror, "The state of the residence will be of great concern to the King after everything that has gone on and been discussed in regards to the house. Prince Andrew was told he must take charge of the necessary renovations or he will have no cause to stay in the house."
Seward further emphasized, "There is no doubt the King will be alarmed at the true state of the residence after the Duke [of York, Andrew's royal title] assured him everything was in hand." She later noted that Charles does not "have any wish to finance him for the rest of his life."
Kate Mansey, Royal Editor of The Times, spoke about the brothers' strained relationship on her podcast, The Royals with Roya and Kate. "I think we think about Harry and William falling out, but this is very, very bitter now between Andrew and the King," she said, adding, "What's so interesting is just how fraught the relations have got between the brothers."
The Sun revealed that Andrew had rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Prince Harry and Meghan were served with an eviction notice. Despite Andrew's insistence that he holds a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge, the question remains whether King Charles can still force a move.
"Somebody said to me, a friend close to the King, said it can be done tidily or it can be done untidily," Kate continued. "Getting rid of Andrew from Royal Lodge can be done with grace and dignity, or it can be forced upon him. So this is sort of fighting talk because Charles is paying a lot of money to have him stay there-his security, his allowance."
Palace sources have insisted that Prince Andrew "remains the King's brother" and is welcome at family events but will never return to public duty. The disgraced Duke's police protection was removed when he stepped back from royal duties amid the Epstein scandal, but King Charles stepped in to cover his multi-million-pound private security bill.
The crisis shows no sign of abating, with recent depictions of Andrew's downfall in Netflix's hit drama Scoop and an upcoming Amazon series featuring actor Michael Sheen as the scandal-hit prince. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun, "The King has undoubtedly got a problem, and the Royal Family very, very clearly have extremely serious and embarrassing perpetual problem with Prince Andrew."
Fitzwilliams noted that the differences between King Charles and Prince Andrew have been striking throughout their lives. "They seem to have gone on as complete opposites, really, in so many ways," he explained, citing the 12-year age gap and their contrasting personalities. "Charles is rather sort of intellectual, serious, sensitive. Andrew, rather bumptious, outgoing."
Regarding the Royal Lodge dispute, Fitzwilliams questioned the point of providing for Andrew, given his lack of a royal role and the unlikelihood of him ever returning to public duty. "You could argue what's the point of him now? He has no royal role, he never will have. So what happens, and then he should get any money. Well, this is up to the King, obviously. It's an embarrassing situation," he said.
