KING Charles is turning up the heat on disgraced Prince Andrew by warning that life will become “uncomfortable” if he refuses to leave his 30-room mansion.
The king, 75, has this year redoubled efforts to oust his brother, who shares a home with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, in what insiders have described as a “siege to the Royal Lodge”.
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King Charles has reportedly threatened to cut ties with Prince Andrew completely. Credit: Getty
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The Royal Lodge of the Duke of York, where he has lived since 2002
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The Royal Lodge is located on 90 acres in Windsor Park
Palace sources say the king, who is funding Andy’s life, may “reconsider the levels of support he is prepared to provide” if he rejects all offers of a new home.
The disgraced Duke of York, 64, who will never return to public office after paying millions to settle a sex-trafficking abuse case with Jeffrey Epstein, has refused for 18 months the king’s pleas to move out.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Andrew turned down the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were evicted.
Andrew, who will never return to royal duties because of his ties to the dead peado billionaire, still refuses to budge, insisting he owns a 75-year lease.
But a friend told The Times: “It can be done neatly or messy. It can be done with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him. It’s all quite sad.
“But as things stand, life at the Royal Lodge is becoming 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 getting the keys back will give him far greater comfort and further support from his family.”
It comes as Charles is said to be unwilling to continue paying out of pocket to fund Andy’s lavish lifestyle.
Sources close to the monarch claim he may be forced to “reconsider the levels of support he is prepared to provide” if the so-called Royal Lodge siege continues.
The disgraced duke’s police protection was removed when he stepped down from public office amid the Epstein scandal.
Royal expert Nigel Cawthorne explains how ‘arrogant’ Prince Andrew clings to a secretive life of royal luxury
But Charles stepped in to raise his multi-million pound private insurance bill.
The crisis shows no signs of abating after Netflix aired its hit drama Scoop with details of Andy’s Newsnight interview about the ‘road accident’.
And there is another depiction of his disgrace in Amazon’s series about his downfall, where Andy is played by actor Michael Sheen.
The scandal-hit father-of-two has kept out of the public eye since sparking controversy by bringing the family to a service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle in February in the absence of the cancer-stricken king.
But last month he was seen playing a lighthearted round of golf with friends in Scotland.
His finances are rumored to be in trouble as he is no longer able to work and it is not clear if he received any larger gains from his late mother’s will when she died in September 2022.
But he and ex-wife Fergie got to keep the corgis, and he made millions from the sale of his chalet in the Swiss Alps.
And the late queen helped pay for his multimillion-dollar settlement with sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Sources close to Prince Andrew insist he will not leave Royal Lodge citing a 75-year lease on the property which does not expire until June 15, 2078.
The duke’s friends have a “cast iron” lease last night and he sees no reason to give up the house he’s lived in for the past 20 years.
DISSOLUTION OF THE PRINCE
PRINCE Andrew’s home at Royal Lodge is “falling apart
New pictures show the peeling paint and cracks forming on the exterior of the Grade II listed 19th-century property.
It is said to have already invested £7.5m in repairs, but sources say it cannot continue to meet the £400,000-a-year bill.
The Sun reported last year that the house currently needs £2million worth of repairs, with the Duke reportedly paying £200,000 to repair the roof.
Very little work has been done on the estate since Andrew spent £7 million on repairs when he moved in after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002.
A source told the Mirror that Andrew had a clear responsibility for the repairs after the contract with his brother was terminated.
They said: “Prince Andrew has been told he must take responsibility for the necessary renovations or he will have no reason to stay in the house.”
The source said the king was very concerned about the condition of the house.
“No doubt the King will be concerned about the true state of residence after the Duke has assured him that everything is in hand.”
A source familiar with trying to force Andy to leave told The Times: “The King’s kindness is not boundless and there is a very good option for Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage, recently vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which also has the advantage of being within the security cordon of Windsor Castle, thereby reducing the need for alternative 24/7 security for the Royal Lodge.
“It takes him longer than desirable to recognize the reality of the situation, even though it is clearly the most sensible course of action.
“If he does not agree to move to an estate that better suits his needs, the king may have to reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide.”
Another acquaintance who visited the Royal Lodge told the newspaper: “It’s quite sad really, but if it’s about who blinks first then Andrew will dig in. He’s not going anywhere.
“He had a stay of execution due to Sarah’s and the King’s illness and will hope that Charles will not want to be seen as vindictive if he kicks him out.”
The Duchess of York, who despite divorcing Andy 30 years ago still lives in Royal Lodge, has recently been battling breast and skin cancer.
Palace sources insisted that Prince Andrew “remains the king’s brother” and is welcome at family events, but will never return to public office.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
‘No return’
Prince Andrew’s reputation is irreparably damaged and he will never be able to return to public life, according to one of Britain’s best PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs PR agency East of Eden, called the disgraced royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give it up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop – a Netflix film based on an interview he gave to Newsnight in 2019.
Nick said: “There’s no going back for him.
“I think you know that constant idea that he might still come back. Nobody cares. He has no fans.
“There is no one who says ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not one person. I think he has to understand that.
“But I think it’s going to take him a long, long time to really understand. It’s very delusional.
“In my opinion, the best thing he could do is just enjoy his life. He has beautiful daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a nice house.
“Just live a peaceful life.”
Reflecting on the interview five years ago – the fallout of which led to Andrew stepping back from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” – Nick compared the fallout to Frost v Nixon and said he would encourage him not to.
He said: “If I was giving him advice, I would say, shut up, shut up, just go down to earth. You know you’re a prince.
“Enjoy the life you lead, but don’t open this can of worms, because it is what it is.
“There was no acknowledgment that a relationship with someone like Epstein was terribly toxic.
“I had no idea there were a bunch of human trafficking victims whose lives were completely destroyed by Epstein.
“He didn’t seem to think that the relationship he had with the man was anything but positive.
“I think his worst blunder was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, because he didn’t realize that he was actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who was going to ask him questions that he might not like.
“But I think what it has done really shows how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
“Read the room. He never read the room at all.”
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Andrew moved in after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002
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It has been more than four years since he stepped down from royal duties. Credit: Reuters
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