Prince Andrew needs to be kicked out of Royal Lodge – I’m sorry Queen didn’t sort him out before she died, expert says
PRINCE Andrew needs to be kicked out of Royal Lodge and it’s a shame the late Queen didn’t sort out his situation before she died, a royal expert has claimed.
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.
Andrew has been refusing to vacate the property despite reports suggesting that King Charles wants him to move to Frogmore Cottage.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, historian and biographer Hugo Vickers has now suggested Andrew “needs to live somewhere smaller”.
During an exclusive conversation with The Sun’s Royal Editor, Matt Wilkinson, Hugo was asked what he thinks the King should do with Prince Andrew and Royal Lodge.
Hugo replied: “Prince Andrew hasn’t been convicted of anything but he gave that ridiculous interview, he’s very unpopular and he does not do royal duties and nor will he.
“It seems to me at some point he does need to move somewhere more practical.
“I’m sorry the Queen died before she sorted him out which she could have done.
“She could have bought him a house somewhere where he would be safe and out of the way and this sort of issue would not be coming up.”
He continued: “Royal Lodge is huge and very expensive to run and if he isn’t getting the grants that he was before it means the King will have to support him.
“He’s not going to come back, he’s not going to do any more royal duties so at some stage he may leave the property.
“But it would be better if he did it voluntarily, I would suggest.”
It comes after The Sun revealed that King Charles wants to rent out Andrew’s Royal Lodge home for £1million a year when he finally leaves.
The monarch is keen to generate commercial revenue from the mansion when he ousts the Duke of York who is refusing to budge, it is understood.
Hugo said that there is a “precedent for this sort of thing” when asked about Royal Lodge being rented out.
He said: “Some of the houses at Kensington Palace have been rented out to people or given to chief of the general staff or people like that so there is a precedent for this sort of thing.
“All Andrew does now is ride in the park and play a bit of golf, he’s 64 so he’s almost at retirement age for normal people.
“So probably with time he needs to accept it and live somewhere smaller.”
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 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.
While the house looks impressive from first glance, it is said to “need extensive repairs”, thought to be about £400,000 a year.
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.
Andrew has rejected other homes offered and is relying on his “cast-iron lease”, which includes a proviso the dilapidated £30million lodge in Windsor Great Park is kept in good order.
But sources believe Charles will get the disgraced Duke to leave.
He could even cut off the £4million a year he pays to keep him afloat.
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.
'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.”