How Prince Andrew May Have Outsmarted King Charles III by Refusing To Move Out of Royal Lodge

King Charles III has been working hard to downsize the royal budget and make certain estates available for rent to help generate income. One of the properties Charles has been eyeing for quite a while has been Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park. 

Even though Andrew is no longer a senior royal and has no consistent source of income, he’s trying really hard to stay in the place he’s called home for the last 20 years. Queen Elizabeth II gave him a 75-year lease on the property, so the Duke of York is reportedly hanging on to that legal document as his bargaining chip with his older brother. That’s because Charles is dying to get him to move to the more modest Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former U.K. home — and for a very specific reason.

According to The Daily Beast, “Charles thinks it is damaging for the monarchy that Andrew is still living in a luxurious royal palace after he was kicked out of the ranks of the working royals” due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew might have the upper hand here, though, by essentially squatting on the property despite his Charles’ wishes in order to get “a bigger financial settlement.” It’s no secret that the home needs major renovations, which Andrew likely cannot afford — and the upkeep alone is going to sink him. 

Prince Andrew might be putting his brother in a place of having “to choose between allowing a historic home to crumble around his nightmare sitting tenant—or pay for the upkeep himself after all.” It might be one way Andrew gets a larger allowance from the king or receives an enormous amount of money to move to another estate and out of the home he loves. It’s a curious stalemate, especially for someone who has disgraced the royal family, but it looks like Prince Andrew is winning this war so far.

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