Prince Andrew stepped down from royal life after his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (and infamous BBC Newsnight interview) in 2019, but Queen Elizabeth’s son still lives at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. As a new book reveals King Charles has cut Andrew off financially, one royal expert is weighing in on why the Duke of York might be refusing to leave his home.
In Robert Hardman’s updated version of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, he shared that King Charles has reportedly taken away his brother’s roughly $1.3 million allowance, writing, “The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King.”
And while the Duke of York might no longer get money from his older brother, he appears to be unwilling to vacate Royal Lodge, which is not covered by the security perimeter surrounding Windsor Castle. Andrew, like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, lost his right to taxpayer-funded security after being stripped of his royal duties, and until recently, the cost of his home’s police team was reportedly being covered privately by Queen Elizabeth, and later King Charles.
Royal expert Hugo Vickers told the Sun that “the ideal situation would of course be that Andrew would volunteer to down-size and move somewhere else,” noting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s former home, Frogmore Cottage, was an “ideal” option.
Prince Andrew has lived at Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, for two decades, and while he might have sentimental reasons for wanting to stay, Vickers said the prince could have a deeper motive.
“What I think he feels is that if he moves out of Royal Lodge it’s somehow publicly accepting guilt for which he has not been proved,” the royal expert mused, referring to the sexual assault case between Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre, which was settled out of court in 2022.
Whether or not that’s a reason for holding his ground in Windsor, Vickers pointed out that Andrew’s lifestyle was too pricey for his current situation.
“If you were running a charity you wouldn’t be asking Prince Andrew to come and be your guest of honor. So nobody wants him in a public way,” the author said, adding, despite this, Andrew was still “living at Royal Lodge, playing golf, seeing his children and grandchildren and riding in the park and it is expensive.”
Royal Lodge, seen here in a 1942 photo, has fallen into disrepair.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
He continued that the property—which has been reported to be in significant need of repairs due to mold and other damage—requires a large amount of upkeep, something that former helicopter pilot Andrew “probably can’t afford to do.”
“It does indeed look as though he’s just holding the fort and refusing to do the repairs, refusing to go,” Vickers told the Sun.
“He would do himself a great favor if he found an honorable way of moving somewhere else,” Vickers wrote, explaining that Frogmore Cottage sits “within the security boundary” and would “make perfect sense” as an alternative residence.
As for King Charles, the royal expert pointed out that the monarch is likely not “being vindictive to his brother” by asking him to leave. But, if the Duke of York “proves to be obstinate and refuses to go then I imagine things will get worse,” he said, noting the pair aren’t close.
“There’s nothing to stop The King actually commanding that he should leave Royal Lodge,” Vickers said, but whether Charles will put his foot down remains to be seen.
