King Charles ‘threatens to sever ties completely with Prince Andrew’ over Royal Lodge row – but duke ‘refuses to go’
KING Charles has reportedly threatened to sever ties completely with Prince Andrew over his Royal Lodge home.
The Duke of York struck a deal to stay at the deteriorating property following a reported row with the King and William last year.
But now it has emerged that Charles is not willing to continue to fund Andrew's lifestyle at the house in Windsor Great Park.
However, the disgraced Duke, 64, is refusing to leave his vast home, according to The Times.
Andrew is said to be "making a point of the matter" despite no chance of returning to royal duties.
A source told the newspaper: "The King's kindness is not without limit 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 benefit of being within the Windsor Castle security cordon hence reducing the need for alternative round-the-clock security for Royal Lodge.
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"He is taking longer than desirable to recognise the reality of the situation, even though it is clearly the most sensible course of action.
"If he doesn't agree to move to a property better suited to his needs, then the King may have to reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide."
The royal shares the sprawling 30-room mansion in Windsor, that was home to the Queen Mother until her death in 2002, with just his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Last year, Andrew and the King clashed when Charles was said to have wanted to kick his brother out of his home with courtiers saying Prince William and his family would eventually move into the vast property.
Andrew has lived in the Lodge for 20 years and signed a 75-year lease on it only paying £250-a-week.
In January, sources told the Daily Mail: "Andrew is going nowhere. He has a cast iron lease."
Charles has previously claimed Andrew should move to nearby Frogmore Cottage — Prince Harry and Meghan's former home.
But the brothers came to an agreement last summer allowing Andrew to stay at the home.
DUKE'S DISREPAIR
PRINCE Andrew's Royal Lodge home is "crumbling
New pictures show crumbling paintwork and cracks forming on the outside of the the 19th-century, Grade II-listed property.
He has reportedly already poured £7.5million into repairs but sources say he cannot continue to meet the £400,000 a year bill.
The Sun reported last year the home currently needs an estimated £2million in repairs with the duke reportedly paying £200,000 for roof repairs.
Very little work has been carried out on the property since Andrew spent £7million on repairs when he moved in after the 2002 death of the Queen Mother.
A source told the Mirror that Andrew had a clear responsibility for repairs after cutting the deal with his brother.
They said: "Prince Andrew was told he must take charge of the necessary renovations or he will have no cause to stay in the house."
The source said the King was greatly concerned about the state of the home.
"There is no doubt the King will be alarmed at the true state of the residence after the duke assured him everything was in hand."
Andrew was forced to step down from royal duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
He paid a reported £12m settlement to Virginia Guiffre, who accused him of sleeping with her while a teenager — which he denied.
It comes as a Royal expert revealed why Charles won't ever strip Prince Andrew of his titles.
Speaking on The Sun's Royal Exclusive show, Richard Palmer slammed the Duke of York as a "perpetual embarrassment" on the royal family.
'There is no way back'
Prince Andrew's reputation is damaged beyond repair and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain's top PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs East of Eden PR agency, called the shamed royal "deluded" for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give up and 'enjoy his life' in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop - a Netflix movie based on the 2019 interview he gave to Newsnight.
Nick said: "There is no way back for him.
"I think you know this perpetual idea that he could still be back. Nobody cares. He hasn't got fans.
"There's nobody out there who's going 'We want to see Prince Andrew', not one single person. I think he has to realise that.
"But I think it's going to take a long, long time for him to actually understand. It's very deluded.
"In my opinion, the best thing that he could do is just enjoy his life. He's got gorgeous daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a lovely house.
"Just live a quiet life."
Reflecting on the interview five years ago - the fallout of which saw Andrew step back from royal duties "for the foreseeable future" - Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have urged him not to do it.
He said: "If I had been advising him, I would say, go quiet, be quiet, just go to ground. You know you're a prince.
"Enjoy the life that you lead, but do not open this can of worms, because that's what it is.
"There was no admission that a relationship with somebody like Epstein was terribly toxic.
"There was no idea that there were loads of victims of trafficking whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein.
"He didn't seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything but positive.
"I think his worst gaffe was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, for not realising that he's actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who is going to ask him questions which he might not like.
"But I think what this has done is really shown how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
"Read the room. He's never read a room at all."
