The royal real estate feud might take a curious turn if Prince Andrew has his way. He reportedly doesn’t want to move into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s turnkey Frogmore Cottage property, he wants to stay in his allegedly rundown 30-room Royal Lodge home. The whole thing is driving King Charles III up the wall, but there might only be one way to get his younger brother out of the massive estate.
While Charles is threatening to cut Andrew’s security funding, according to The Times, that might not be enough of a punishment for him to move. “The facts remain the facts. He’s got a long lease on Royal Lodge, the family has lived there for 20-odd years and still have 50-odd years to run on the lease,” a Duke of York’s pal told the media outlet. “It’s in perfectly good repair because they spent the lion’s share of the sale of their previous house [Sunninghill Park, his former country home] renovating it from top to bottom, thereby saving any draw on the public purse or the private finances of the royal family. Them’s the facts.”
Andrew is going to die on that hill because Queen Elizabeth II gave him that lease, but there has to be something that will motivate him to move. Celebitchy is speculating that the Duke of York might desire a large sum from his brother’s endless Duchy of Lancaster account — they are talking about “an eight-figure amount.” However, that’s a dangerous proposition for King Charles because if he sets his brother free, he will likely get entangled in another royal scandal. If Andrew relies upon the monarch for financial resources, then Charles can continue to control his actions.
Prince Andrew knows he has his brother exactly where he wants him — and that means no one is leaving Royal Lodge. However, that isn’t stopping friends of King Charles from issuing a very public threat to The Times. “It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity, or it can be forced upon him,” they warned. “It’s all rather sad. But as things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke. The only question now is when he will realize that he has become a prisoner of his own pride—and that handing back the keys will afford him far greater comfort, and the continued support of his family.”
Royalists focus too much on the Prince Harry family feud when the real problem in the family is Prince Andrew. He’s right there on royal grounds under their noses, and he might be holding the most powerful card over the King of England.
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