Prince Andrew looked dejected as he drove through Windsor today, amid fears that his brother King Charles will evict him from his crumbling Royal Lodge mansion.
The Duke of York, 64, wearing a navy blue jumper emblazoned with the crest of the Grenadier Guards, was seen driving onto the grounds of Windsor Castle.
In December 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, would become the new Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, replacing Prince Andrew.
The royals’ exit today comes after photos emerged showing Andrew’s dilapidated home, where the disgraced duke stays despite being unable to pay his £400,000-a-year maintenance costs.
The images show the Royal Lodge, where the Duke of York has lived for two decades, with its iconic white paint peeling from the walls, dirt marks staining the façade and widening cracks in the bricks.
Prince Andrew looked dejected as he drove through Windsor today, amid fears that his brother King Charles will evict him from his crumbling Royal Lodge mansion.
It comes months after he refused to leave the property, which has 30 bedrooms and is believed to be worth £30million, and promised king charles he would take care of their expensive repairs, despite having no apparent source of income.
Andrew, who was forced to step down from royal duties over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, was reported to have been told he would have to leave the property before being granted “a stay of execution”.
Part of the terms of this alleged agreement with his older brother was that he would carry out repair work on the Grade II listed 19th century property, but it appears that this has not yet been done.
A source said Mirror that Andrew has a “clear responsibility” for the care and maintenance of the property, but this is “certainly not happening.”
“The state of the residence will be of great concern to the King after everything that has happened and been discussed regarding the house,” they said.
“Prince Andrew was told he must undertake the necessary renovations or he would have no reason to stay in the house.”
Andrew has lived in the house for 20 years and signed a 75-year lease after agreeing to maintain it and pay £250 a week.
Sources close to the duke said in January: ‘Andrew is not going anywhere. He has a cast iron lease.
The Duke of York, 64, wearing a navy blue jumper emblazoned with the crest of the Grenadier Guards, was seen driving onto the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Andrew, who took over the Royal Lodge from the late Queen Mother on a long-term lease, has paid more than £7.5million of his own fortune for renovations.
Photos show paint crumbling and cracks forming on the walls of Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge home.
The king’s younger brother was stripped of his royal duties and the use of his HRH title by the late queen.
The Mail revealed last year that the King intended to evict his brother from the mansion on the Windsor estate and move him to a more modest property.
Frogmore Cottage, previously occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan, was suggested as a possible alternative, but Andrew reportedly saw this as a “downgrade” too far.
Amid the dispute over his property, one of Andrew’s friends described how there had been a “cooling of relations” between him and the king.
Charles then extended an “olive branch” to his brother by inviting him to Balmoral for the summer along with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
The brothers are said to have engaged in crisis talks during a family gathering there late last August, during which time the issue of Andrew’s tenancy was debated.
Royal Lodge has seven bedrooms on the top two floors and Andrew shares the luxurious mansion only with his ex-wife Sarah.
The mansion is in desperate need of repairs on top of the £200,000 roof maintenance Andrew has already paid for, including work to resolve a damp problem across the property.
Andrew took over the late Queen Mother’s home on a long-term lease and has invested up to £7million of his own fortune in renovations.
In 2022, Andrew paid a £12 million settlement to Virginia Giuffre, stopping a civil trial in the US, after she said he sexually assaulted her when she was 17. He strongly denies the allegations.
The King’s younger brother was stripped of his royal duties and the use of his HRH title by the late Queen, bBut he can still attend family events, such as the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham, in a private capacity.
MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
