Prince Andrew has refused to leave his lavish mansion at Royal Lodge in Windsor, despite his security funding being slashed and his brother, King Charles, telling him to move out, labeling Frogmore Cottage, Meghan and Harry’s former home, “not good enough”
Prince Andrew will reportedly reject any move to Frogmore Cottage(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Prince Andrew may have stepped back from his Royal duties, but he’s still living the high life. The Queen’s son – who is reportedly living in fear that Musk will name him in Epstein ‘bomb – ‘living in fear that Musk will name him in Epstein ‘bomb’ – has been residing at Royal Lodge in Windsor alongside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson since signing a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate back in August 2003.
Despite King Charles, 76, urging Andrew, who was recently embroiled in a Chinese spy controversy, to vacate the 30-bedroom mansion for a more modest Royal home, the Duke of York is digging in his heels. Even with the King cutting off his security funding, Andrew, 65, is reportedly hiring his own security team and footing the bill for property maintenance out of his own pocket.
While some might wonder why Andrew won’t just pack up and leave, a property expert explained to GB News that there’s a reason the duke is turning down smaller properties offered by the King, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s old Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
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Robin Edwards, a property buying agent from Curetons, shared with GB News: “He (Andrew) has refused to leave his lavish mansion and move to the significantly smaller Frogmore Cottage, believing it to be not grand enough for him.”
Prince Andrew lives at Royal Lodge with his ex wife(Image: Getty)
But Andrew’s insistence on staying put at Royal Lodge—a place once cherished by the late Queen—will undoubtedly come with its costs, reports the Express.
This is because, per the 75-year lease from the Crown Estate inked in August 2003, Andrew is on the hook for refurb costs himself.
Reports have been swirling that the mansion needs a hefty amount of work, like painting and fixing up the inside, with some efforts begun just last year.
Edwards commented: “Even back in September 2002 that (maintenance work) was very conservatively estimated at at least £7.5 million excluding tax.”
Prince Andrew has so far refused to leave Royal Lodge(Image: Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Edwards added: “The costs are likely to have grown significantly since then with time and inflation.”
But chat about the future of Royal Lodge doesn’t seem to have thrown a wrench in King Charles and Prince Andrew’s relationship; Andrew even turned heads with an unexpected Royal appearance this April at the Easter Sunday service in Windsor.
He rocked up with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who he still shares a roof with at Royal Lodge – just around the corner from Windsor Castle.
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