As the bitter feud between King Charles and his younger brother, Prince Andrew, over the £30 million Royal Lodge continues, the Duke of York is reportedly planning to deploy a "secret weapon" in his bid to remain in the sprawling Windsor-based mansion. According to royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, Ingrid Seward, Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, could be key in helping him stay put.
"The princesses are Andrew's secret weapon," Seward told The Sun. "They are very popular amongst the royal family, and Charles is especially fond of them. They are his passport now [that] he has lost everything." The York sisters, who are well-liked by the King and the rest of the royal family, are said to be aware of their father's contentment at Royal Lodge and are willing to help him in any way they can.
The ongoing standoff, dubbed the "siege of Royal Lodge," has been raging for 18 months, with Andrew refusing to budge despite the King's pleas for him to move out. The disgraced Duke, who stepped back from royal duties following his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview discussing his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has rejected offers to relocate to properties like Frogmore Cottage, the former home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Palace sources have indicated that the King, who has been funding Andrew's lavish lifestyle, could "reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide" if his brother continues to refuse all offers of a new home. The monarch is said to be growing increasingly frustrated with Andrew's refusal to care for the colossal mansion, which reportedly needs extensive repairs estimated at £400,000 a year.
"Andrew is said to have promised King Charles he would take care of its expensive repairs-despite having no apparent source of income," The Sun reports. The King's unwillingness to continue paying out of his own pocket to support Andrew's lifestyle has only added to the mounting tensions between the brothers.
A friend of the Duke of York told The Times, "It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity, or it can be forced upon him. It's all rather sad." They added, "The only question now is when he will realize that he has become a prisoner of his own pride-and that handing back the keys will afford him far greater comfort, and the continued support of his family."
The scandal-hit father of two has kept a low profile since causing controversy by leading the family into a service for the late Greek King Constantine at Windsor Castle in February, in the absence of the cancer-stricken King Charles. The crisis shows no sign of abating, with recent depictions of Andrew's downfall in the Netflix drama "Scoop" and an upcoming Amazon series starring Michael Sheen as the disgraced Duke.
GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker commented on the toll the situation has taken on Prince Andrew, stating, "Going from almost the top of British society to where he is now-almost the recluse in this massive mansion which may be falling apart at the seams, depending on which way you look at it-clearly must have had a huge effect on Prince Andrew." He added, "I think it's going to be really interesting to see how this one plays out."
