Prince Andrew refuses to leave Royal Lodge and Charles ‘unable’ to evict him

Prince Andrew refuses to give up his home at the Royal Lodge (Picture: REX/Getty)

King Charles is said to be powerless to evict Prince Andrew from his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor and his brother has no intention of leaving as the lease is in his name.

According to a royal insider, the Duke of York, who has lived at the 30-room mansion for 20 years, is reportedly under pressure from Buckingham Palace to vacate the premises, which has been lined up for Prince William and Kate to move into.

But Andrew reportedly intends to honour the lease he signed in 2003 – which expires in 75 years and is signed under his name rather than the royal family’s – by refusing to move out of the £30million mansion.

The Prince is instead being pressured to move into Frogmore Cottage, a smaller property on the Windsor estate previously occupied by Harry and Meghan.

The sprawling 30-room mansion has been Andrew’s home for 20 years (Picture: Shutterstock)

A source close to Andrew told The Times: ‘The lease is in the duke’s name so no one can take that away from him.

‘It has never been suggested that it could be taken away from him. It’s a long lease with 80 to 90 years left on it.

‘This is a lease between him and the Crown Estate. That’s not a matter for the King. It’s a matter for the chancellor of the exchequer. The only way you could get him to move out would be through an arrangement — he would have to agree.’

The source claimed there was ‘no foundation’ to reports this week that the Crown Estate might try to cut off the duke’s electricity in order to pressure him into leaving.

They said the King was unlikely to exert pressure on Andrew because it would not make him a ‘very popular person within the family.’ 

‘There are other members of the family who would not want to see a member kicked out,’ they added.

Another source close to Andrew previously said: ‘This has been his family home for the last 20 years. Is it really sensible to kick him out?

The Duke signed a 75 year lease on the property and refuses to leave (Picture: Getty)

‘He’s concerned that now the coronation is over, the knives are out. But we’re dealing with human beings, not real estate.’

Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, are regular visitors to Royal Lodge and it was hoped Eugenie would be able to have her child there during the summer.

It is widely understood that Royal Lodge, once occupied by the Queen Mother, has been earmarked for Prince William and his family.

Andrew moved into the luxury home following the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.

The lodge has reportedly been earmarked for William and Kate (Picture: AP)

He was granted the residence by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II and lives there with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

Tom Bower, who has written biographies about the King and Prince Harry, told The Times: ‘I think the King is right. He’s got to slim down the number of houses in the royal portfolio and Andrew has got to come to terms with his fate. He can no longer live like a duke.

‘Frogmore will be a cold shower for him, but he’s just got to take it.’

Andrew stepped away from royal duties in 2019 after details of his friendship with convicted child sex traffickers Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell came to light.

In March 2022 he paid an undisclosed sum, thought to be about £3m, to Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her after Epstein trafficked her.

The duke denied the accusations.

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The 75-year lease to the £30 million mansion is signed under Andrew’s name personally rather than the royal family as a whole.