King Charles abhors confrontation, so there was some surprise when he (or perhaps those close to him) declared war on his younger brother, Prince Andrew, in the usually staid pages of the Times.
According to the newspaper, there is an “increasingly bitter standoff” between the monarch and the Duke of York over the fate of the Royal Lodge, which has been Andrew’s family home since he paid £1 million for a 75-year lease. in 2003.
Andrew, who shares it with his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, spent more than £7.5million on major renovation work on the sprawling Grade II listed mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Prince Andrew rides through the grounds of Windsor last week
Andrew has spent more than £7.5 million on extensive renovation work on the sprawling Grade II listed mansion in Windsor Great Park.
However, the king is said to have made it clear that he wants Andrew to move out and live somewhere else.
Under the title ‘Location! Location! Eviction?’ The Times reported that Andrew ‘refuses to budge, much to the frustration of his brother.’
Describing the “battle of wills”, one source was quoted as saying, somewhat ominously, that “if he does not agree to move to a property that better suits his needs, then the King will have to reconsider support levels.” receiving”. willing to provide.’
What was missing from the report, however, was any insight into why the King is apparently so keen to evict his brother from his home of two decades.
Money can hardly be a motivation, given His Majesty’s great wealth.
The article suggested that Royal Lodge, which is owned by the independent Crown Estate, could be let to a private tenant.
However, a 2005 National Audit Office report made it clear that this could not happen, “due to the sensitive location of the property in the center of Windsor Great Park with its attendant management considerations, and due to concerns of security that surround the access of the Royal Family to the Royal Chapel’.
The Royal Chapel of All Saints, where Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020, is located in the grounds of the Royal Lodge.
Meanwhile, the Crown Estate felt it would be appropriate for the property to remain under the occupation of the Royal Family. According to my sources, that position has not changed.
Admittedly, it has been suggested that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children could move into the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge.
The Waleses currently live in four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
However, a source close to William and Catherine tells me that they are very happy there and do not wish to leave. In due time, they will occupy Windsor Castle.
“The last thing William and Catherine would want is a lot of controversy about getting another big house,” says a friend.
‘They already have their grand home at Kensington Palace and their Norfolk estate, Anmer Hall, as well as Adelaide Cottage. There was quite a bit of criticism about the cost of renovations to their Kensington Palace home and they wouldn’t want to go through all that again.
More than one friend of the Yorks has suggested: could it be that the King sees the Royal Lodge as a potential future home for Queen Camilla?
What then is the real What is the reason behind the King’s determination to evict Andrew and Fergie, who, like Charles and the Princess of Wales, has recently endured a battle with cancer?
More than one friend of the Yorks has suggested the same intriguing answer to me: could it be that the King sees the Royal Lodge as a potential future home for Queen Camilla?
Like everyone who has been seriously ill, the King is said to have been thinking about all possible contingencies. Who would not?
He will know that if his wife survived him, her status would be somewhat uncertain.
As queen dowager, Camilla would be stepmother (not mother) to King William. And William will inherit everything, just as Charles did from his mother, including Clarence House, where Charles and Camilla live when they are in London. As Prince of Wales, William already owns the King’s beloved Gloucestershire home, Highgrove.
Andrew and Charles attend a Thanksgiving service to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Charles will therefore be determined to ensure that Camilla stays as she is used to. Could that include guaranteeing you a “country” retreat in Windsor Great Park?
Even before ascending the throne, Charles went to great lengths to give him the status he believed he deserved.
Seven months before Queen Elizabeth died, the late queen announced that she wanted Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, to be known as queen consort when Prince Charles became king. Few can have doubted Charles’s influence on that decision, which contradicted a statement from Clarence House when Camilla married Charles in 2005 that she would in future be known as Princess Consort, such was the sensitivity around the thorny issue.
Although Queen Camilla owns her own country home, Ray Mill House in Wiltshire, it’s hard to imagine her stepping away from royal life completely.
What better place to continue living like a queen than at Royal Lodge, the beloved home of the Queen Mother until her death in 2002?
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