Prince Andrew's calculated strategy to stay at the Royal Lodge has come to light amid his ongoing conflict with King Charles.
The King has asked the Duke of York to relocate to a smaller residence, with Frogmore Cottage being the likely alternative.
Despite this request, Andrew is unwilling to move, as he is not required to leave the Royal Lodge, which he leased for 75 years in 2003, with over 50 years still remaining. According to an insider, Andrew plans to outlast his brother while their dispute shows no signs of resolution.
The source told the Daily Beast: "Andrew can sit tight and run out the clock."
They continued: "Andrew wants his brother to live long and prosper. He is intensely loyal to the monarchy.
"But it’s not exactly a state secret that Andrew is more than a decade younger than his brother.
"Quite why Charles wants this distraction at this moment in his reign is a great mystery to Andrew’s friends.
"It looks childish and vindictive as I don’t think anyone except Charles would give a damn where Andrew lives."
Prince Andrew signed a 75-year lease agreement with the Crown Estate for the Royal Lodge in 2003.
The lease has 54 years remaining on it and Andrew plans to honour the terms of the agreement.
Currently, the Duke of York plans to bequeath the lease to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie so that they can use the property after his death for the remaining years of the agreement.
A former courtier said: "The whole thing is a mess and arguing about it publicly is not helping the King.
"Ultimately, Andrew will have to be given something to surrender the lease."
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A friend of Charles tells the Daily Beast that he “will cut all financial support if he has to. Charles is the king, and if he wants Andrew gone, Andrew will be gone in the end.”
Royalist Correspondent
Prince Andrew will defy his brother King Charles’ insistence that he moves out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room historic Windsor mansion he has called home for the past 20 years, a friend of the prince has told the Daily Beast.
The friend told The Daily Beast: “Andrew can sit tight and run out the clock.”
Asked if they were suggesting that Andrew thought Charles might die before he could evict Andrew, the friend said Andrew simply intended to stay in the property, which he is legally entitled to do, having a lease on it that will not expire for over 50 years and can be bequeathed to his children, until his brother accepted he had the legal right to stay there.
They added: “Andrew wants his brother to live long and prosper. He is intensely loyal to the monarchy. But it’s not exactly a state secret that Andrew is more than a decade younger than his brother, and that Charles has cancer. Quite why Charles wants this distraction at this moment in his reign is a great mystery to Andrew’s friends. It looks childish and vindictive as I don’t think anyone except Charles would give a damn where Andrew lives if they stopped briefing the newspapers about it.”
It was recently reported that Charles has told Andrew’s 10-strong security team, which he pays for privately, that their contract will not be renewed this fall. He believes this will put pressure on Andrew to move.
A friend of King Charles, who is 12 years older than Andrew, said the monarch remains “utterly determined” that Andrew will be obliged to vacate Royal Lodge.
The friend of King Charles scoffed at Andrew’s defiance and said, “It’s been compared to a siege and that is accurate in one respect because Charles will starve Andrew out. Security is just a first step. He will cut all financial support if he has to. It’s Andrew’s choice how this goes. Charles is the king, and if he wants Andrew gone, Andrew will be gone in the end.”
If Andrew were to move to Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s old home, extra security would not be needed as Frogmore is within the core royal estate at Windsor.
However, friends of Andrew have previously told the Daily Beast that withdrawing security will not make him leave the property, suggesting that he would instead rely on normal social provision of policing to keep him safe, adding that he is entitled to expect not to be “murdered in his bed.”
Andrew Lownie, a historian and expert on Andrew who is writing a biography of the prince, previously told the Daily Beast that Andrew has “plenty of money” from business dealings in the Middle East.
The question as to why Charles is so keen to have another empty property on his hands remains moot.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, left, and Prince Andrew, 2015.
Intriguingly, there have been some reports in recent weeks that Charles wants the property empty so it can be given to his wife, Queen Camilla, as a grand dowager house after his death.
It was thought at one stage to have been earmarked for Prince William and Princess Kate but sources say the couple are quite happy with their current living arrangements; they are based at four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage near Windsor Castle and also have a palatial apartment in London and a grand manor house in Norfolk on the Sandringham estate.
Andrew and Charles are both in Scotland this week, although it’s not clear if the subject of Royal Lodge has been raised. It seems unlikely, with sources telling the Daily Beast Charles was not staying with the rest of the family at Balmoral, instead staying at his private home on the Balmoral estate, Birkhall, where he is resting, painting, and gardening.
Representatives for both men declined to comment to The Daily Beast.
The fresh insight into Charles’ renewed efforts to kick his brother out of Royal Lodge, a 10-bedroom home in Windsor Great Park that was once the home of the famously extravagant Queen Mother, came days after Sarah Ferguson suggested she and Andrew would not be vacating the property. Sarah told an interviewer for HOLA TV not to believe media reports that they were moving to Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Cottage.
“Don’t always believe what you read,” she said, when asked if it was accurate that they were moving, adding: “I take every day as it comes.”
A former courtier told The Daily Beast: “The whole thing is a mess and arguing about it publicly is not helping the king. Ultimately, Andrew will have to be given something to surrender the lease.”
Royalist Correspondent
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