Andrew says he’s going nowhere and will not leave Royal Lodge after it emerges he signed a £250-a-week lease for the next 75 YEARS
- Prince Andrew told friends he has no intention of leaving his Windsor estate
- He was reportedly concerned about affording upkeep as allowance is slashed
Prince Andrew has reportedly told friends he has no intention of leaving his Windsor estate after signing a £250-a-week lease for 75 years.
There are mounting suggestions he may be forced out after the King indicated he would slash Andrew’s allowance of £250,000 by April as part of his plan to reduce royal costs.
But the Duke of York has spent millions of his own cash over the years renovating Royal Lodge to his own likings and has indicated he won’t leave without a fight.
An insider told The Mirror: ‘He (said) he’s not leaving, there is no chance that will happen and even if the King wanted him how would that work?
‘If he (the King) wants to spend millions reimbursing him for the money he’s already spent on the property, that’s another matter.’
‘Could you imagine a situation where the Duke threatens to sue his brother, the King, over money. It would be unthinkable.’
Prince Andrew has reportedly told friends he has no intention of leaving his Windsor estate after signing a £250-a-week lease for the next 75 years
The Duke of York reportedly told friends he is unlikely to be able to maintain upkeep of his Windsor home (pictured) without receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the King
There are mounting suggestions he may be forced out after the King indicated he would slash Andrew’s allowance of £250,000 by April as part of his plan to reduce royal costs
And Andrew does have some grounds to argue his case to stay.
In 2003, he signed a 75-year lease for the home on the proviso he pays £250-a-week. As a result, he thought he’d be able to call the estate home for the rest of his life.
Royal Lodge has 30 bedrooms and sits on 98 acres of land. Andrew is said to spend most of his time on the property.
The Duke of York reportedly previously told friends may struggle to maintain upkeep of the home without receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the King.
When Andrew was hit by bombshell allegations of sexual abuse in 2019 – which he strenuously denies – he stepped down from being a working royal and therefore no longer received public funds.
Instead, he relied on the generosity of his late mother who supported him with private funds from the Duchy of Lancaster. The sum has been reported to have been approximately £249,000 per year.
However in the last few weeks, the King has reportedly asked all members of the royal family to tighten their belts and to expect less money from the Duchy – now owned by Charles – than in the past.
Now, there are suggestions the family’s solution to Andrew potentially losing his home could be to move him into the ‘nest egg’ Fergie purchased as an investment for their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32.
Prince Andrew could be set to move into his ex-wife’s £4.25 million Belgravia mews as plans to rent out the newly renovated terrace ‘fall quiet’
Sarah Ferguson paid all cash for the Belgravia home in June last year and has spent the months since completely renovating it in anticipation of renting it out to tenants
Now, there are suggestions the family’s solution to Andrew potentially losing his home could be to move him into the ‘nest egg’ Fergie purchased as an investment for their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32.
Mail on Sunday earlier revealed the duo may have event helped cover the cost of the home.
Sarah Ferguson paid all cash for the Belgravia home in June last year and has spent the months since completely renovating it in anticipation of renting it out to tenants.
A source told The Sun all talk about moving a tenant in ‘has suddenly all gone quiet’ amid reports Andrew fears his older brother King Charles is trying to force him out of his £30 million Windsor home.
‘They are looking to keep it empty to use themselves,’ the insider said.
‘It’s a far cry from a mansion on the Windsor estate, but this is their only London property.’
There are suggestions the family’s solution to Andrew potentially losing his home could be to move him into the ‘nest egg’ Fergie purchased as an investment for their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32 (pictured together)
Official Land Registry documents revealed she cannot sell it without written consent signed by her daughters. One legal expert suggested the clause may have been added if Beatrice and Eugenie stumped up the funds.
‘That could be one explanation,’ they said, adding: ‘But it also could mean that whoever purchased the property wants to make sure that her daughters ultimately benefit from it.
‘Usually a restriction like this one is needed to stop conmen taking advantage of vulnerable elderly relatives and selling their house from under them when they are in a care home, but I don’t think that applies in this case.’
A source close to the Duchess declined to discuss whether she had paid for the mews home herself, stating it was a ‘private matter’.
However, they alluded to Fergie’s recent publishing success, adding: ‘She has bought it very much as a nest egg for the girls so it does not surprise me at all that she has put that kind of provision in.’
The terrace is a short walk from Ghislaine Maxwell’s old home where Prince Andrew was pictured with his arm around the waist of the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, who claims she was trafficked to London to have sex with him in 2001.
Fergie bought it a few months after he reached a multi-million pound settlement with Ms Roberts. He did not accept any liability and strongly denies the claims.
Late last year, Andrew finally offloaded his seven-bedroom Swiss ski chalet for £19 million.
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