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Privacy NoticeKing Charles and his younger brother Prince Andrew have been deadlocked for months over the tenancy of the 30-room Royal Lodge on the Windsor Park estate. Last year, it was revealed that the Duke of York, 64, was finding it difficult to cover the £400,000-a-year maintenance costs of the £30million property. The King has reportedly been keen to draw a line under his private funding for security on the estate and relocate Andrew into a smaller accommodation. However, Andrew signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003, which means his brother has no legal basis to evict him. This deadlock has prompted Royal experts to suggest that one family member might help “make Andrew see sense”.
Prince Andrew stepped down from his royal duties in 2019
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On the Palace Confidential podcast, The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent Natasha Livingstone said: “Prince Andrew has been living in the Royal Lodge for about 20 years the term ‘Lodge’ is slightly misleading because it’s actually 30 bedrooms [sic].” She continued: “The problem is that because he’s not a working royal any more, the public aren’t funding him. But Andrew has his name on the lease for the Lodge, and tied up with that is that he has responsibilities to maintain it.” Natasha explains that just the regular painting of the Lodge’s exterior is an expensive task, and there’s some disagreement over who should pay the bill.
Sarah, Duchess of York has been tipped as an unlikely peacemaker
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Natasha’s Mail on Sunday colleague, Editor at Large Charlotte Griffiths, pointed out an unexpected figure who might defuse the tensions. Despite also residing in Royal Lodge, Andrew’s former spouse Sarah, Duchess of York, could be the one to reconcile the quarrelling siblings. Charlotte suggests it may appear obvious for Fergie and her daughters to align with ‘Team Andrew’ in any Royal fracas. She stated: “It’s in their interest for him to keep this very grand house because first of all Fergie lives there and second of all there are some reports that the girls might actually inherit it one day, or inherit their lease over it so they might sort of want it want to keep it in the York family.” Yet, she notes the Duchess of York may have the influence needed to encourage Andrew to negotiate. She elaborated: “She’s actually got this relationship with Charles now that’s getting better and better and stronger and stronger, so she could be a bit of a mediator.” But the challenge for anyone attempting to settle this dispute, Charlotte pointed out, is the fact that “these are two of the stubbornest men in England and they’re used to getting their own way.”Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterComment
