The Duke of York is said to be “resisting” the King’s wishes for him to move out of his current residence and into Frogmore Cottage, the now-former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Andrew has lived in the Royal Lodge, located three miles south of Windsor Castle, since 2004. He resides in the 30-room mansion with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
But it was recently revealed that King Charles III has requested Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “vacate” Frogmore Cottage, with the monarch reportedly offering the keys to Andrew instead.
However, The Sun quoted a source as saying that Andrew remains “resolute” that he will stay at Royal Lodge and has not yet accepted the offer to move.
The duke signed a 75-year lease for £1 million on the Royal Lodge, which was formerly home to the Queen Mother until her death in 2002.
He has spent around £7.5 million repairing and renovating the property. It has been reported that the estate could now be worth £30 million if it were to put on the market.
Recently, Andrew reportedly told friends he might have to move out of the 98-acre estate if the King cuts his royal allowance.
He is expected to have his £249,000 annual allowance cut from April, but has reportedly said this would leave him struggling to cover the cost of maintenance for Royal Lodge.
A source told The Daily Mail earlier this year that Andrew was “not being explicitly kicked out but it’s expected that he won’t be able to afford the maintenance”.
“Royal Lodge has a swimming pool, 98 acres of land and is already in need of some repair. This is about Charles telling Andrew that he can use his own money to pay for things. The same goes for other members of the family, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.”
But sources said the King vowed not to leave Andrew “homeless” and it has now been reported that he wants his disgraced brother – who is no longer a working royal – to move into the smaller, 10-room Frogmore Cottage.
Andrew stepped down as a working royal over his association to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, he reached a multi-million pound settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her while she was underage. Andrew vehemently denies the allegations.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan were said to be “stunned” by plans to move Andrew into their former home. The couple were gifted Frogmore Cottage by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018, after they got married. They moved in there in 2019, ahead of the birth of their first child, Archie.
They confirmed that they were “requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage” in a statement issued by their spokesperson on Wednesday night (1 March). It comes shortly after Harry released his controversial memoir Spare, and just two months ahead of Charles and Camilla’s coronation in May.
The couple are now reportedly making plans to remove their remaining belongings from the home and ship them to the US.
