The King has been left with one option after Prince Andrew has refused to leave his mansion, royal experts say.
The Duke's residence Royal Lodge has become a battleground amidst claims of his refusal to obey the King's demands he vacate the 30-bedroom property.
The Grade-II listed house in Windsor Great Park has been home to the Prince for two decades and now is reportedly earmarked for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Prince Andrew signed a long lease on the £30million property - part of the Crown Estate where he lives with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson - after moving in following former resident the Queen Mother's death.
According to friends of the Prince, the lease has another several decades left on it, and the powers to boot him out are not even in the hands of the King, but the Chancellor.
"The lease is in the Duke’s name so no one can take that away from him," the friend told The Times.
"It has never been suggested that it could be taken away from him.
"It’s a long lease with 80 to 90 years left on it. This is a lease between him and the Crown Estate."
"That’s not a matter for the King. It’s a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
"The only way you could get him to move out would be through an arrangement — he would have to agree."
The King and Prince Andrew's battle over Royal Lodge has been ongoing for month, with initial reports that the property was becoming too expensive to maintain amidst Charles' desires to squeeze royal budgets.
Andrew meanwhile has had his annual maintenance loan slashed from £249k slashed this year, making upkeep of the huge property increasingly difficult.
"If Charles wants Andrew to play ball and help the family through these difficult times, aren’t there better ways of going about it?" friends told the Daily Mail.
"Why not do the decent thing, sit down and talk?
"If they need the house for William, perhaps Andrew should be told. Perhaps William should invite his uncle for tea and explain.
"Or why doesn’t Charles invite his brother for a meeting and ask him if he’d leave Royal Lodge to help his nephew and the future of the monarchy? And agree a schedule acceptable to both sides."
