Prince Andrew is demanding two houses to move out of Royal Lodge, reports claimed Monday.
Prince William’s friends told The Royalist that he was resisting his uncle’s demands, but King Charles is said to be actively considering the option, which would be greeted by public outrage.
Prince Andrew’s camp have, however, leaked suggestions that giving Andrew two houses—one for him and one for his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson—was the king’s idea.
It’s a clear sign of the chaos at the heart of King Charles’ court, where discipline has completely broken down as courtiers, family members and aides have taken advantage of the weak and ailing king’s lack of control to push their own agendas.
It’s also remarkable evidence that despite having agreed to renounce his title of Duke of York, the prince is still living up in astonishing style to the title of the damning new biography about him by Andrew Lownie, which is called Entitled.
Andrew’s demands also reflect the simple fact that he is currently enjoying one of the most advantageous property deals in Britain, and is now so hated and despised by the public that he has nothing left to lose.
It would make no financial sense whatsoever for Andrew to move out under the terms of his lease, as by those terms he would receive only about £557,000 (around $710,000) in compensation.
He will need an extra incentive, as he effectively prepaid £8.5 million (about $10.8 million) for 75 years’ occupation, which works out to roughly £113,000 ($144,000) a year—a tiny sum for a 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park on 90 acres, whose market rent would easily exceed £1 million ($1.27 million) per year.
Staying put, therefore, offers him extraordinary value: over the next 50 years he and his heirs could enjoy accommodation worth at least £50 million ($63 million) on the open market, for no further outlay. By contrast, taking the £557,000 payout now would mean walking away from one of the most favorable property arrangements in Britain—a move that would be, from a purely financial standpoint, catastrophic.
Andrew, in other words, holds many cards.
Frogmore and Adelaide Cottages together are thought to be worth about £10 million ($12.7 million).
King Charles has been trying to push Andrew out of the gigantic Royal Lodge for more than a year, with speculation that he wants the property as a dower house for his wife, Camilla, after his death. The precedent is there, as it was formerly the dower house of the late Queen Mother after the death of her husband, King George VI.
Charles has been humiliated by his abject failure to eject Andrew from the property, and earlier this year accepted that he had lost the battle. Incredibly, in a sign of the shambolic mismanagement at the heart of the king’s chaotic office, just ten days ago, when Andrew renounced the use of his title, the king’s office issued guidance saying Andrew would not be leaving the grand property.
Charles’ team’s spectacular mismanagement of the entire Andrew affair has incurred the wrath of Prince William, who, in a bold demonstration of his growing power as his father lives with incurable cancer, coordinated the moves to get Andrew to renounce his title—something Charles’ team had long said was impossible, impractical and pointless.
Andrew’s coming eviction from Royal Lodge (and sources have told The Royalist it’s a matter of “if not when”) is another sign of William’s growing power.
One source told The Royalist that William was left in despair when he laid his eyes on the media briefing notes issued by the palace a week ago last Friday which said Andrew would be staying on at Royal Lodge. Some reports have said the proximity between Royal Lodge and Forest Lodge is a concern for William, but in fact the properties are a few miles apart, and sources told The Royalist that William couldn’t care less about that issue.
The shameless prince was reported Monday to be demanding one house for himself and one for his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who in 2010 was taped trying to sell access to Prince Andrew for £500,000 ($635,000) in a clear case of influence peddling that was unsurprisingly never prosecuted by the police. A friend told The Sun: “Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands.”
Andrew’s bargaining comes as it was revealed he’s lived rent-free for two decades under a “peppercorn” lease. Buckingham Palace has been tightening the screws—Charles slashed his brother’s allowance last year—but Andrew has long insisted on his “cast iron” lease.
The National Audit Office is reportedly examining Andrew’s finances after Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed calls for “proper scrutiny” of the arrangement. Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey went further, saying Andrew has “relinquished any rights to special treatment at the expense of the taxpayer.”
A source described as being “close to Ferguson” told the London Times that neither she nor her ex-husband had demanded two properties, but said the arrangement was one of the options suggested by Buckingham Palace in the past.
Frogmore Cottage, which has five bedrooms, was given to Harry and Meghan by the late Queen as a wedding gift in 2018 and was renovated at a cost of £2.4 million ($3 million). The Sussexes lived there for six months before moving to the U.S., and the property is now empty.
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