King Charles III has ignited a feud with his brother, Prince Andrew, as he pushes for the Duke of York to vacate the Royal Lodge, a lavish 30-room estate in Windsor Great Park. Multiple reports suggest that the monarch's motivation behind this move is to secure the future of his beloved wife, Queen Camilla, in the event of his passing.
Friends of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have claimed that King Charles may be ensuring that the Royal Lodge remains free and worthy for Queen Camilla to reside, should the cancer-stricken monarch's health take a turn for the worse. The Duke of York has lived in the estate since 2004 under a 75-year lease from the Crown Estate, sharing the luxurious property with his ex-wife, whom he divorced in 1996.
The growing maintenance problems at the Royal Lodge have provided the King with an opportunity to force the Yorks out of the home and into the smaller Frogmore Cottage. Daily Mail Editor Richard Eden revealed that more than one friend of the Yorks suggested to him that the King sees the Royal Lodge as a potential future home for Queen Camilla.
"Like anyone who has been seriously ill, the King is said to have been thinking about every possible contingency. Who wouldn't?" Eden wrote. "He will know that, were his wife to outlive him, she would be left with a somewhat uncertain status."
If King Charles were to pass away, Queen Camilla would become stepmother to Prince William, who would then ascend the throne as King William V. As the new monarch, William would inherit all the crown's assets, just as Charles did from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, when she passed in 2022. This inheritance would include Clarence House, the London residence of Charles and Camilla, as well as Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, which William already owns as the Prince of Wales.
According to Eden, King Charles "will be determined" to ensure that Camilla is provided with a "country bolthole" in the form of the Royal Lodge, given Prince William's advantageous position. The royal commentator supported his assertion by noting that Charles went to great lengths to secure the status he felt Camilla deserved when he became King, even influencing the late Queen Elizabeth's announcement that Camilla would be titled Queen Consort upon his ascension.
Eden also dismissed speculation that Charles was pushing the Yorks out of the Royal Lodge to reserve the grand residence for Prince William and Kate, stating that a source close to the Prince and Princess of Wales told him they were "very happy" living in their current home, Adelaide Cottage, on the private grounds of Windsor Castle, and had no desire to leave.
The shocking state of disrepair at the Royal Lodge was recently revealed in photographs published by the Daily Mail, following reports that the Yorks could no longer afford the upkeep of the 19th-century, Grade II-listed property since Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal duties.
As the feud between King Charles and Prince Andrew escalates, the monarch's determination to secure Queen Camilla's future has become increasingly apparent. The eviction of the Yorks from the Royal Lodge appears to be a strategic move to ensure that the Queen Consort will have a comfortable and befitting residence, even if the King's health were to deteriorate.
