King Charles doesnt believe Prince Andrew can afford to live in Royal Lodge long-term

Something I’ve noticed, in the past year, about all of the King Charles vs. Prince Andrew stories, is that Buckingham Palace is actually using a credibly accused rapist and human trafficker to distract from the even bigger story of how the Windsors screwed the pooch when it came to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Think about how bumbling, incompetent and ridiculous that is. The big story is: wow, you guys really mishandled the Sussexes. Then Buckingham Palace is like “don’t forget, we also have all of this drama with the king’s rapist brother, talk about that too!” Anyway, we’ve seen and heard for months now that Charles is totally fine with Andrew and his perversions because, sources insist, Andrew is at least “loyal” to the institution, unlike Harry. This week, we learned that Charles will allow Andrew to stay at Royal Lodge rather than forcing him to move into Frogmore Cottage. They brokered some kind of deal at Balmoral in August: Andrew can stay at Royal Lodge just as long as he pays for the repairs. Now the king’s courtiers are briefing against Andrew…??

King Charles privately believes Prince Andrew has ‘no long term future’ at his Royal Lodge home, despite apparently giving him more time to stump up the money to stay there. It follows reports that the beleaguered Duke of York has been granted permission by the monarch to ‘stay indefinitely’ at his Windsor mansion after they ‘thrashed out a new deal’.

The pair have been at loggerheads over Charles’s demands that Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, move out of the 30-room royal property – which has problems with damp and requires several million pounds-worth of repairs – into somewhere smaller, such as Harry and Meghan’s old home, Frogmore Cottage. The Mirror reported this week that Andrew, 63, had been granted a ‘stay of execution’ after Charles accepted his brother should be given time to prove he can pay for the mansion’s upkeep.

Buckingham Palace has refused to get drawn into the issue. However, multiple well-placed sources in royal circles have told the Mail that the prince isn’t being ‘realistic’ about his financial situation after being forced to step back from public duties over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and having his annual allowance – believed to be in the region of £250,000 – culled by the king.

One family friend said: ‘It’s all a bit cloud cuckoo-land, I’m afraid. No one, not least His Majesty, believes there is any realistic, long-term chance of the Duke of York being able to keep the roof at Royal Lodge over his head. It’s a massive property and estate that requires a huge amount of upkeep.’ Another added: ‘In all honesty, I would not expect to see the Duke of York of living at Royal Lodge in the long term. If he could pay the upkeep then he would be welcome to stay. But the chances of that happening are, frankly, remote. He and the duchess are… rattling around in a huge property they simply can’t afford.’

The King has no right to kick his brother out because Andrew took on the late Queen Mother’s Grade II-listed property from the Crown Estate in 2004 on a long-term lease and has funded many millions of pounds worth of renovations. If King Charles did persuade him to move, then the Crown Estate could even end up owing Andrew money.

But the sovereign is alive not only to how it looks for a jobless ex-royal to live in such palatial surroundings, but also to the lucrative income Royal Lodge could bring in as a rental property on the open market.

‘The Duke is clearly not going without a fight,’ one insider remarked. ‘This will all probably end in tears. Mostly likely his.’

[From The Daily Mail]

As I said previously, I’d be willing to bet that Andrew has plenty of money stashed away in various foreign accounts, money which he could use to make the Royal Lodge repairs. This seems like wishful thinking from Charles, not Andrew, the idea that Andrew’s only income came from his “allowance.” This is face-saving gossip for the king, not Andrew – Charles wants to look like he’s taking the longer view, when really he just refused to force the issue with Andrew. Also: Andrew really would sue the Crown Estate if he was evicted. He has a lease and he already put money into renovating the place, money which the king would have to pay back.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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