Due to the fact that tensions between Prince Andrew and his brother, King Charles, have been building for a long time, it is now possible that Prince Andrew will be compelled to leave his royal residence.
Duke of York, a shaming figure Prince Andrew is a resident of Royal Lodge, a Windsor mansion that has thirty rooms and appears to be in dire need of various repairs. Reportedly, he is reluctant to part with the property because he is now living with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, which is an odd arrangement from his perspective, as per The Mirror.
Despite the fact that it is believed that the 64-year-old has a lengthy lease on the home that is valued at thirty million pounds, King Charles ultimately possesses the authority to force him out of the property if he so desires.
As the continuing conflict between King Charles and his controversial brother continues, it was rumored earlier this summer that the monarch would decide to limit the amount of money that his brother receives. There is a possibility that this will result in Prince Andrew having a difficult time covering the expenses associated with the maintenance of the deteriorating Grade II-listed Royal Lodge, which appears to be in desperate need of repair work.
A further turn of events has occurred in the story, as it has been claimed that King Charles, who is 75 years old, has decided to eliminate Prince Andrew's security team of ten people. This may leave his brother with no other option but to pack his belongings.
To begin, Prince Andrew has been a resident of Royal Lodge, which is located on the Windsor estate, since the year 2004. Although the property has been around since the middle of the 17th century, it wasn't until the middle of the 1930s that it was inhabited by its first royal residents. In 1931, it was presented as a weekend retreat to George VI and the Queen Mother, who were the Duke and Duchess of York at the time.
A number of additions were made to the property by the Queen Mother, and it also includes a miniature cottage or Wendy house known as Y Bwthyn Bach. This cottage was presented to the late Queen, who was known as Princess Elizabeth at the time, in the year 1932. It was still used as a grace and favour residence by the Queen Mother up until the time that she passed away there in March of 2002, with the late Queen Mary at her side. This continued even after the King had passed away in 1952.
After the passing of the Queen Mother, Prince Andrew was given the lease on Royal Lodge after she passed away. In addition to the main home, the lease included the Gardener's Cottage, the Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages, accommodations for police security personnel, and an enormous forty hectares of land.
All of the upgrades, which were apparently estimated to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of £7.5 million, were to be paid for by him personally. After that, in 2004, he moved into Royal Lodge with his two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and shortly after that, he moved in with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, while signing a lease for a period of seventy-five years.
In recent years, Prince Andrew has seen a significant fall from grace as a result of his affiliation with Jeffry Epstein, a pedophile who was convicted of several offenses. As a result of an interview after a car accident that was broadcast on BBC Newsnight in 2019, Andrew was compelled to withdraw from public life. Then, in the year 2022, he was left in a state of shell shock as the late Queen stripped him of all of his military titles and royal patronages. Furthermore, he was not permitted to use the title of His Royal Highness in any official capacity.
A year later, rumors started to spread that King Charles was eager for his brother to relocate to Frogmore Cottage, which had recently undergone renovations. This was a time when Charles was eager for his brother to move out. There were allegations that Andrew was unable to pay the annual maintenance fee of £400,000 for the property, but he refused to move from his position.
On the other hand, it was speculated earlier this year that Prince Andrew had been granted a stay of execution at the property as a result of the cancer diagnosis that his ex-wife Fergie had received. Fergie, who resides at Royal Lodge with Andrew, disclosed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous year.
At the beginning of this year, the Duchess of York also disclosed that she had been given a diagnosis of skin cancer. It was also reported that King Charles was aware of this at the time. Additionally, the pair lives in the house with their five Norfolk Terriers as well as Sandy and Muick, the two corgis that belonged to the late Queen Margaret.
During the month of June, photographs were seen that appeared to show Royal Lodge in a state of disrepair and in dire need of restoration. The photographs displayed what appeared to be fissures in the brickwork that were getting worse, as well as paint that was peeling off of an outside building.
There are further photographs that show the worn and disintegrating walls of Royal Lodge. On the building, there is evidence of moss, and the paint is beginning to flake off. There is scaffolding that has been observed in the front of the house, where there is also a skip that is full with pieces of rubble.
It has been claimed in the past that King Charles has redoubled his efforts to exert additional pressure on his younger brother over the land, and that he has purportedly threatened him of severe consequences if he continues to remain in his current location. As a result of Andrew's prolonged refusal to take possession of the new property despite having previously requested it, Charles is said to have been frustrated.
"The King's kindness is not without limit and there is a very good option for Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage, recently vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which also has the benefit of being within the Windsor Castle security cordon hence reducing the need for alternative round-the-clock security for Royal Lodge,” an unnamed royal source told The Times, adding that Prince Andrew is "taking longer than desirable" to "recognize the reality of the situation".
For the time being, however, Prince Andrew has not shown any signs of bending. One of the Duke of York's acquaintances informed the newspaper that he is likely to "dig in" if the standoff continues, and that he had already enjoyed a "stay of execution" in light of Sarah Ferguson and King Charles’ own recent illnesses.
Business Times has reached out to Prince Andrew for comments.
