ROYALSKing Charles and Prince Andrew's Battle Over Royal Lodge to Cause a 'Radical Shake-Up' at Buckingham Palace
King Charles asked Prince Andrew to vacate the Royal Lodge in 2023.
King Charles requested Prince Andrew vacate the Royal Lodge in 2023, but the latter has yet to leave the mansion.
In recent months, royal experts speculated the brothers have been arguing over the property.
Prince Andrew resigned from his role in 2020 after being accused of assault.
“If Andrew can pay for his own upkeep with legitimate means, then it is not an issue," a source told GB News. "But the King’s patience has run out when it comes to funding his brother’s lifestyle in a way that does not fit his status.”
Andrew resigned from his role in 2020 after Virginia Giuffre accused him of assault, and the duke continues to lose aspects of his privileged lifestyle.
Royal experts wonder if Prince Andrew can finance the Royal Lodge without King Charles' help.
When Andrew gave up his position, he was stripped of his royal salary, which could lead to him not being able to afford to maintain the Royal Lodge without his primary source of income.
“I don't think it's the case that [King Charles] doesn't care where the money comes from," historian Gareth Russell told the outlet. “They are restricted by legal matters, which is that they can't really ask where the money is coming from."
“Now this may mean, in the future, there'll be a radical shake-up about how these sort of grace and favor royal estate contracts are drawn up, because it's become quite clear that the Crown doesn't have the authority over some of its own properties that it might have in an ideal world," he continued.
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Prince Andrew continues to attend royal family gatherings despite no longer working for the brood.
Last year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were also asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, but the royal family can begin to reconsider rental agreements due to Andrew's failure to find a new address.
“So maybe we'll see going forward that leases like the one that currently exists with Royal Lodge just won't be issued again," Russell shared.
OK! previously reported biographer Robert Hardman claimed Charles is slowly taking things out of the Royal Lodge.
“The Royal Collection, which owns quite a lot of the treasures inside there, may say, ‘Well, we can’t be confident that this place is safe anymore,’ and they’ll start taking the paintings and some of the furniture away,” Hardman said on the “Palace Confidential” podcast.
“The king is very conscious that [Royal Lodge] is not entirely in his gift,” he noted. “It’s a Crown Estate property and the Crown Estate ultimately answers to the government.”
Royal experts believe Prince Andrew hopes Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice will inherit the Royal Lodge.
The Royal Lodge holds historical and sentimental value to Andrew, as he's lived in it since 2004.
“That’s a house that has always belonged to someone who performs public duties on behalf of the nation. It always was when George VI lived there, when Queen Mother lived there, and Prince Andrew to begin with,” Hardman said.
“He was performing public duties and therefore there was an obligation by the state to look after that property, to make sure it was secure. Now [Andrew] has got no public life, no prospect of a public life, and I think that does bring into question what he’s still doing in a place that was a home for many years of a sovereign," he added.
