Prince Andrew isn’t leaving his mansion without a fight.
The Sun reported that the disgraced royal has agreed to vacate his 30-room Royal Lodge, despite his lease, which lasts until 2078. However, the former Duke of York is reportedly demanding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage, and Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Adelaide Cottage for his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace and a spokesperson for Ferguson, 66, for comment.
“He is totally oblivious to reality and has a ghastly, entitled attitude,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “He doesn’t care about the longevity of the monarchy, or he wouldn’t have put it in jeopardy in the first place. He wouldn’t have put his own mother in such a position. He would just go quietly.”
According to the outlet, it was Andrew who crafted the deal. The prince and his ex-wife have been living at Royal Lodge since 2008 despite divorcing in 1996.
“Frogmore Cottage is too small for both, and Adelaide Cottage is around the corner, so they will see each other whenever they want,” a source told the outlet.
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“No one is really sure how it’s going to go down at the palace yet,” a friend of the ex-Yorks also told the outlet.
Neither property would need renovations nor cost taxpayers more on security, the outlet shared. Talks are said to be continuing, specifically on how much rent Andrew and Ferguson would be charged. People magazine reported that there have been days of “intense negotiations” over demands that Andrew leave Royal Lodge, where he has been living since 2003.
“Talks are still ongoing,” a source close to proceedings told the outlet.
“Prince Andrew wants an undisclosed compensation from King Charles for all the renovation costs at Royal Lodge, which is said to be in the millions,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner claimed to Fox News Digital.
“He also wants respect and support for his two daughters, allowing them to continue their royal work and charity patronages,” Turner claims. “He wants a financial settlement, too, for Sarah Ferguson, who also contributed towards the renovations at Royal Lodge. I would also imagine he wants to continue his own [personal] business activities without any further interference or involvement with the royal family.”
“The royal family has it within their power to agree to all of this,” he noted. “Prince William will want a watertight agreement that Andrew cannot renege on.”
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Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told Fox News Digital that the king, 76, who is seeking treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, has long wanted his younger brother to downsize. However, Andrew had refused to budge, citing his lengthy lease. The Prince and Princess of Wales are leaving Adelaide Cottage next month and moving to Forest Lodge.
On Oct. 17, Andrew announced he was relinquishing his Duke of York title and other honors after renewed scrutiny over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement released by Buckingham Palace, the monarch’s younger brother said, “The continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family.”
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Amid the announcement, The Times U.K. discovered that Andrew has been living rent-free in his 30-room Royal Lodge home in Windsor for more than two decades. The outlet, which obtained a copy of the leasehold agreement for Royal Lodge, reported Andrew paid £1 million for the lease, plus at least £7.5 million for refurbishments completed in 2005. He has paid “one peppercorn (if demanded)” in rent per year since 2003.
If Andrew were to give up his lease early, the British newspaper reported that the crown estate would owe him a “compensatory sum” of about £185,865 per year — totaling more than £557,595 — until the 25-year agreement is up in 2028.
The outlet previously reported that Andrew raised enough money to live in Royal Lodge. The prince’s funds were approved by the Keeper of the Privy Purse as coming from “legitimate sources.”
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The estate is worth a reported $38 million.
Last year, the Mail on Sunday’s editor-at-large, Charlotte Griffiths, claimed that King Charles was the secret source who paid Andrew’s rent, allowing him to stay at his palatial Royal Lodge home. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” agreed with Griffiths’ scoop. Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time.
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Andrew stepped down from public life in 2019 over his association with Epstein, despite his denials of wrongdoing. His latest announcement came days after the posthumous memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre was published on Oct. 21. The 41-year-old, who died in April, alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew, 65, when she was 17.
Emails also emerged that allegedly showed Andrew remained in contact with Epstein longer than he previously admitted.
In 2021, Giuffre sued Andrew, who denied her claims and said he didn’t recall meeting her. The case was settled in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. According to court documents, the prince acknowledged that Giuffre was “an established victim of abuse.”
Officially stripping Andrew of his royal titles would require an act of parliament. While Andrew will no longer be referred to as the Duke of York, he will remain a prince as he is the son of the late queen. His Royal Highness title has been inactive since 2019. Buckingham Palace and the British government are under intense pressure to formally strip Andrew of his royal titles and sumptuous home.
A pal of Andrew’s told The Sun that he is “willing to leave” Royal Lodge, but “these are his demands.”
“He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at Royal Lodge is up.”
