'Not a Good Look': Disgraced Prince Andrew's Daily Habits at the 30-Room Royal Lodge Include 'Bizarre' Rituals Amid Duke's Spacious Exile
Prince Andrew, 64, is battling King Charles III to stay in the "rotting" opulence of the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle. New reports suggest the ex-working royal is "wasting precious resources" and "his time" barricaded within its palatial walls.
"Andrew seems to spend most of his time either riding around the huge estate on horseback or reportedly sitting in front of a big screen watching live coverage of planes landing and taking off," veteran royal reporter Jennie Bond shared.
The disgraced royal has lived in the Crown Estate property since 2003 when the late Queen Elizabeth II asked the estate to give the prince a 75-year lease for the "jewel in the royal residential portfolio."
"It's not a good look," Bond added. "So the obvious answer is to persuade him to move to the vacant Frogmore Cottage which has been magnificently refurbished for 2.4 million pounds, which of course Harry and Meghan finally repaid."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were finally kicked out of the 8-bedroom cottage in June 2023 after spending far too long "dragging their feet" on whether to keep the renovated home or not.
Bond continued, "I really don't think that the family trouble themselves any longer with how Harry might react to any decision."
The journalist then pointedly said, "The King is aware that having a disgraced Duke whiling away his time in a 30-room mansion that requires up to half a million pounds of upkeep every year and something like 2 million pounds in security costs to keep him there looks bad."
After losing his British taxpayer-funded security, the King is said to be paying for the former Jeffrey Epstein associate's security bill from his private revenue.
"It seems like a perfectly sensible and generous offer by the King to continue to pay the costs for his brother," she observed. "The security would presumably be less at Frogmore because it is much closer to Windsor and within the security cordon already in place around the castle and its environs. It's time this grand old Duke of York marched down the hill to a property he can afford!"
When King Charles acceded to the British throne upon the death of Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, the new monarch was determined at that time to "downsize the Crown." In addition to cost-cutting measures at his multiple royal residences, the King also saw "a way to make himself appear as if he is scolding the wicked Andrew," a palace insider shared.
The sovereign felt that the ex-working royal along with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has lived in the mansion since 2008, were "wasting resources" in the lavish, 30-room residence. He also reportedly felt that the "jewel in the royal residential portfolio" should go to the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are the next king and queen-in-waiting.
Daily Express reported on Bond's remarks.