Inside disgraced Prince Andrew’s ‘struggles’ with crumbling 30-room Royal Lodge where ‘he watches TV in a dark room
HE may live in a sprawling £30million mansion, but Royal Lodge does come with “struggles” for Prince Andrew.
The disgraced Duke of York, 64, currently resides at the Windsor Great Park lodging in Berkshire, which boasts 30 rooms, a swimming pool and large grounds.
While the house looks impressive from first glance, it is said to “need extensive repairs”, thought to be about £400,000 a year.
The shamed Duke has reportedly poured £7.5million into the renovation and upkeep of Royal Lodge in the past, but sources say he cannot continue to meet the bill.
The Sun reported last year the home currently needs an estimated £2million in repairs.
Recent photos showed the Stucco-like outside of the mansion falling away and mould growing on it.
Prince Andrew lost his public funding when he quit as a working royal over sex abuse allegations and also stands to lose Royal Lodge which he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
As part of losing his public funding, he also lost his £3million a year taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police protection, which were replaced by private security officers.
The monarch is said to be increasingly unwilling to keep paying out of his own pocket to fund Andrew’s lavish lifestyle – and has threatened to withdraw £4million-plus a year that he reportedly provides.
Royals experts say Andrew has stubbornly clung onto his HRH title, which he is allowed to use in private, while hobnobbing with rich pals like billionaire Johan Eliasch, who he was spotted with ahead of the release of Netflix drama Scoop.
FROGMORE REFUSAL
The Sun exclusively revealed Andrew had rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were served with eviction.
Despite mounting costs, he is still refusing to budge – pointing out that he is in possession of a 75-year lease – with insiders branding the stand-off the “siege of Royal Lodge“.
A friend told The Times: “It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him. It’s all rather sad.
“But as things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke.
“The only question now is when he will realise that he has become a prisoner of his own pride – and that handing back the keys will afford him far greater comfort, and the continued support of his family.”
EUGE DEAL
It has been reported that Prince Andrew plans to bequeath the lease of Royal Lodge to his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, after his death.
Podcaster Svar Nanan-Sen said on The Royal Record podcast: “One report this week discussed that a possible motivation for Andrew is holding out is that he sees the Royal Lodge as part of Beatrice and Eugenie’s inheritance.
“The lease has got another 54 years on it to go, Andrew is 64, and so there is very much the possibility that at some point it could pass on to his daughters.”
According to GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker Beatrice and Eugenie “do not want Royal Lodge”.
Their two children, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, live with their respective husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, and Jack Brooksbank, 38, and kids.
EXPENSIVE STAFF
Ingrid added that life at Royal Lodge is “pretty grand”, and Prince Andrew has staff at his beck and call.
The royal expert added that when you arrive “a butler opens the door and offers guests refreshments and there is a cook and housekeeper.”
The Duke of York also requires staff for the outside of Royal Lodge, which is not a surprise given the home sits within 98 acres of grounds.
Ingrid added: “The grounds are well tended and unless Andrew has taken up gardening would demand the attention of at least one full time gardener.”
Real estate expert and founder of Bramlett Residential Eric Bramlett claims maintaining and upkeeping royal residences is a costly and tricky business.
He told Fabulous: “Maintaining a historic royal residence is an enormous undertaking that requires a full team of experts working tirelessly year-round.
“One of the biggest challenges with these historic royal residences is the exceptional regulatory hurdles.
“There are strict rules around what updates or changes can be made.
“Architects and designers then spend several hundred hours carefully planning any alterations and selecting appropriate materials that align with preservation standards.
“After that, you have highly skilled tradespeople like plasterers, carpenters, upholsterers and specialist painters devoting hundreds more hours to meticulously executing the restoration plans.
“You have to jump through a ton of hoops getting approvals for even minor alterations.
“Sourcing appropriate materials, tools and skilled craftspeople capable of working on centuries-old building materials and antique furniture is no easy feat either.”
He added that the “costs are “substantial” and renovations are a “labour of love for the staff committed to the work.”
'There is no way back for Prince Andrew', claims PR guru
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.”