Real reason Prince Andrew is fighting King Charles to keep Royal Lodge

The Duke of York has remained living at Royal Lodge in Windsor, despite the King cutting off his brother’s annual ‘living allowance’.

And despite being offered to downsize and move into Prince Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Lodge, Prince Andrew is continuing to reside at the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.

Speaking on the latest episode of HELLO!’s A Right Royal Podcast, author Robert Hardman shares his thoughts on why the Duke has refused to budge from the property.

“Someone said to me the other day, he’s got nothing else,” he said. “He’s got no public life. He has no public role. And he’s clearly devoted to this home, and he likes being there. So, if he can make it work, he’s going to try.”

Citing an insider source, Robert writes in an updated version of his biography, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story: “‘The Duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,’ confirms one familiar with the situation.

“‘He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs – which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case.

“‘But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter.'”

The royal residence, which was once the Windsor home of the late Queen Mother, reportedly requires extensive repairs, with photographs published by The Sun earlier this month showing crumbling paintwork and cracks on its exterior.

Andrew was said to have signed a 75-lease on the Royal Lodge in 2003, but the disgraced Duke stepped back as a senior royal in November 2019, following his TV interview with BBC Newsnight, which focused on his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In February 2022, Andrew reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, after she sued him claiming she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the royal when she was 17 and a minor under US law.

The Duke has vehemently denied the allegations.

In January 2022, he was stripped of his honorary military roles and lost the use of his HRH style in an official capacity.