Commentator Says King Charles Can’t Actually Do Much to Get Prince Andrew out of the Royal Lodge
The reshuffling of royal residences continues as King Charles III reportedly wants Prince Andrew to leave the Royal Lodge. Despite being the leader of the British royal family, an expert says the king doesn’t have much power when it comes to getting his brother to move out.
There’s ‘pressure’ on Prince Andrew to move out of the Royal Lodge for 2 reasons
The Duke of York has called the Royal Lodge home since 2003. Located three miles from Windsor Castle, it’s also been home to his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, since 2008.
However, that could be changing. Richard Palmer, an Express royal correspondent, told the outlet’s Royal Round Up there are two reasons Andrew’s feeling the “pressure” to move out.
“There is pressure on Andrew to give up the Royal Lodge and that comes from a couple of points,” Palmer said.
“Members of the royal family are looking at him and Fergie, looking at this 30-room house, with seven bedrooms, and saying it’s ridiculous there are just two people living there,” Palmer said. “Andrew at one end of the house and his ex-wife at the other.”
The other concern is cost. “More importantly, it’s an expensive place to run and is looking a bit neglected, from what I understand,” Palmer continued. “The Queen Mother lived there before her death and I think it got a little bit run down while she was living there.”
“Andrew did give it a fresh lick of paint when he moved in and spent £7 million upgrading it,” he added. “I’m told the whole facades need doing again and that alone could cost £1 million.”
Together, that’s upwards of roughly $10 million. Not to mention Palmer noted there’s “talk the roof needs doing.”
Prince Andrew’s home isn’t part of the Occupied Royal Palaces Estate, leaving King Charles without ‘a lot of leverage’
Now for what makes Andrew moving out of the Royal Lodge more complex. At least where King Charles is concerned.
The property, Palmer explained, isn’t included in the Occupied Royal Palaces Estate along with other residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
In short, the Royal Lodge isn’t kept up with taxpayer funding. Instead, the Royal Lodge is leased to Andrew through the Crown Estate, a commercial business that contributed millions of dollars to Queen Elizabeth II’s net worth.
So what does all this mean for King Charles, Andrew, and the Royal Lodge? For the king, it means there isn’t much he can do.
“Apart from the financial support he [King Charles] gives him [Andrew], he doesn’t have a lot of leverage over that,” Palmer explained. “He can’t evict his brother from Royal Lodge because, as I have said, that is a Crown Estate property.”
“The monarchy is technically the owner of the crown estate,” he added. “But in name only and it is basically an independent property company that makes money from the government.”
King Charles ‘can’t support’ Prince Andrew like Queen Elizabeth II did, commentator says
Palmer also offered a “reading between the lines” version of what he thinks is transpiring between Andrew and King Charles.
“The King is saying, ‘I can’t support you in the way I used to support you like your mother used to be able to support you. And I’m worried are you going to be able to stay there and do the maintenance work that is needed on the property.’”
As for Andrew, Palmer thinks he’s adamant about remaining in his longtime home. “I think Andrew is saying, ‘I’m not moving and I will find a way.’ But nobody is quite clear how exactly he’s going to do that.”
For now, the commentator said, King Charles is trying to sway Andrew to trade the Royal Lodge for something “more financially manageable.” In the meantime, Andrew and Ferguson continue to call the property home, along with the queen’s corgis.
