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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Antony Thrower & Nicola Croal

Prince Andrew 'reluctant' to leave home for essential roof repairs as he's worried he 'won't be allowed back'

Prince Andrew has denied yet another request from the King to vacate his royal home as he fears he will "never be allowed back in again".

The Grade-II listed Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park has been home to the Duke of York for two decades and is now reportedly being kept aside for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Duke of York's lavish 30-room residence has become a battleground amidst his alleged refusals to obey the monarch's orders, the Mirror reports.

Prince Andrew signed a long lease on the £30million property, which is part of the Crown Estate, where he resides with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson after they moved in following the Queen Mother's death in 2002.

Prince Andrew moved into the Royal Lodge with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2002 following the Queen Mother's death (Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The King believes it would make more sense for his younger brother to move into Frogmore Cottage, which is the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but the MailOnline reports that Andrew has refused to leave.

A source said: “It's become farcical.

"Andrew has roof repairs scheduled later this summer which will take several months to complete and has been advised that staying in the house during those renovations could prove problematic.

“But he is reluctant to leave.”

The two brothers have been allegedly feuding over the Royal Lodge for over a month, with initial reports that the property was becoming too expensive to maintain amidst the King's wishes to tighten royal budgets.

The Duke of York has had his annual maintenance loan of £249k slashed this year, making his upkeep of the lavish property increasingly difficult.

Charles reportedly asked his younger brother to move into Frogmore Cottage in an attempt to tighten royal budgets but Andrew who has had his royal budget slashed is refusing to budge (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Last month it was even claimed that King Charles could be forced to cut off utilities at the Royal Lodge in a desperate attempt to make Andrew budge.

It has been reported that palace chiefs initially set a September deadline for the divorced couple to leave the residence, but later accepted it was too soon.

The length of the lease and the fact it's in Andrew's name could create some problems for the King in his mission to move to the Duke, according to an insider who recently spoke to The Times .

They said: “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."

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