Prince Andrew, 65, is being pressured to give up his Windsor residence, Royal Lodge, following his controversial friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles' brother gave up his Duke of York title on 17 October, and now his home has come under question, and it is believed he is in talks with Buckingham Palace about the next steps. According to The Sun, Charles' brother, said to have requested to relocate to the Windsor property, Frogmore Cottage, which is not too far from his existing residence. HELLO! understands that Frogmore and Adelaide Cottage - where his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, has reportedly requested to move - were an option offered to the royals several months ago. Discover why Andrew wouldn't have to foot an initial renovation bill should he move into Frogmore…
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously lived at the property after they married in 2018, getting the keys in 2019, following a series of renovations. The extensive work included converting the Grade II-listed property from separate apartments to a single-family home. They paid back the £2.4 million of taxpayers' money after they stepped down as senior royals. So, after having a total remodel in 2019 and all new interiors, it will be in a perfectly livable condition for Andrew to move straight in if required.
Will Prince Andrew pay rent?
It has recently been revealed that Andrew has not paid rent to the Crown Estate for years. A copy of the leasehold agreement for Royal Lodge, which was obtained by The Times, revealed that while Andrew paid £1 million for the lease plus at least £7.5 million for refurbishments (which were completed in 2005), he has paid only "one peppercorn (if demanded)" in rent per year, since 2003. In my five years writing about royal homes, I've learned that each royal lease has different terms. For example, royals such as Prince William and Princess Kate, who are set to move into Forest Lodge any day now, will pay the going "market" rate for their property. So, we will have to wait and see what kind of agreement gets drawn up by the royals for Andrew.
When will Prince Andrew leave Royal Lodge?
There has been no definite word on the prince's departure from his home of 20 years, just a swirling of rumours about where he could be going. Let's remember that he has no contractual obligation to leave if he keeps up with the terms of the lease, which so far he has. Instead, it will be down to Andrew to go on his own accord, believes author Andrew Lownie. The writer of the book The Rise and Fall of the House of York said he thinks the only way Andrew could leave the property is "voluntarily."
In a special episode of A Right Royal Podcast, he said: "He has this ironclad lease as long as he maintains the terms of that lease," he says, before adding: "The only way I think he can go is to voluntarily go. The optics look terrible for a non-working royal in a 30-room mansion. And he, of course, is an honourable man and he always puts the country and the monarchy first, so I hope he will do the right thing. Only pressure that could be put on him is how his daughters are treated and maybe if the screws are put on to them, in terms of their future, he might do that."