Prince Andrew's Losing Battle: Disgraced Duke's 'Standoff' With King Charles Over the Royal Lodge Is 'Doomed'
King Charles III and Prince Andrew's nearly two-year-long battle for the Royal Lodge is likely coming to an end, and things look bleak for the disgraced Duke.
"Charles has been trying to get him out for some time," royal author Robert Jobson shared. "He got a great big long lease from the late queen and has been holding that over his brother's head. But the truth is, he can't really afford to live there."
"The roof's falling in, and the king reckons, I suppose, that if he can get his brother out, he can actually rent the place out to some billionaire or somebody else that would actually bring in a lot of money to the royal coffers. So, I think that Andrew's pretty much doomed, and he's probably going to have to get out of there."
New reports suggest the King is now setting his sights on Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk for both Andrew and his ex-wife and "roommate," Sarah Ferguson. The five-bedroom home fashioned in distinctive red brick previously belonged to the late Prince Philip before his death in April 2021. The home is secluded and situated on private property, which is where the monarch wishes to place his controversial sibling.
Additional reports suggest the Duke and Ferguson may be given an apartment in the ancient and private St James's Palace, not a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace in London. Also designed in distinctive red brick, the fortress dates back to the 1530s during the reign of King Henry VIII, and is the official seat of the British monarchy. Andrew and Fergie's eldest daughter Princess Beatrice also has a private apartment in the palace which is strictly off-limits to the public.
"For King Charles, forcing Andrew to move to Frogmore solves several problems at once — it sends a message to Harry that, as a private citizen and no longer a working royal, he will never be allowed back to Frogmore," royal author Tom Quinn said of the ongoing scandal.
He continued, "It sends [a] message to Andrew that having disgraced himself, he can no longer expect to live in the grand style. And, finally, it means that a suitably grand residence can be made ready for the royals who really matter — William and Kate. Charles is determined that Royal Lodge is the only residence on the royal estate at Windsor that is big enough and regal enough for his heir."
However, a palace source claims, "One of the main reasons why the couple are so content at Adelaide Cottage, their current home in Windsor Great Park, is because it is a family house and there are no live-in staff. Moving into the vast Royal Lodge would mean having to accommodate domestic staff, something they have long resisted."
Daily Express reported on the expert revelations.