King Charles struggles to evict Prince Andrew as disgraced royal's home is in 'total disrepair': experts

According to reports, King Charles III (right) wants to evict his younger brother Prince Andrew (left) from the lavish Royal Lodge mansion.

Prince Andrew is reportedly facing eviction from his brother, King Charles III, after neglecting to pay the annual $503,000 upkeep of his $37 million Royal Lodge mansion.

The claim was made by Us Weekly, which alleged that the Duke of York is unable to keep up with the expenses to maintain the sprawling 19th-century property, which the monarch’s estate owns. A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

British royal expert Ian Pelham Turner alleged to Fox News Digital that the king, 75, is struggling to hand out an eviction notice to his disgraced sibling.

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"Prince Andrew is fighting very hard to remain a senior royal," Pelham Turner alleged. "The problem is his home is in total disrepair.… I believe Charles feels that spending money on Andrew would not go down well. On the other hand, it was allegedly said bythe queen on her deathbed to Charles to look after Andrew, who was always thought to be her favorite son."

"King Charles is adamant that such a large house, especially if it needs a significant amount of money spent on it, he can only do that forWilliam and [his] children," Pelham Turner added.

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According to the outlet, the property is faced with dampness issues, as well as "wear and tear" that is ravaging the building. It noted that "cracks are becoming worse on the brickwork," and there is peeling paint, along with plaster falling off.

The outlet shared that the king had allegedly demanded the 64-year-old to vacate the 90-acre home and instead move to the smaller Frogmore Cottage, the former UK home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously confirmed the couple had been asked to vacate that property. It was their main residence before they gave up royal duties and moved to California in 2020.

However, Andrew allegedly thought the move would be too much of a downgrade.

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The prince currently resides in Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. They were married from 1986 to 1996. Andrew has lived in the lavish home since 2003.

"Even before becoming king, Charles was urging his mother, Queen Elizabeth, to boot Andrew out of his lavish digs," Christopher Andersen, author of"The King,"alleged to Fox News Digital.

"But while she was willing to punish Andrew for his involvement with serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by stripping Andrew of his royal duties, Andrew remained her favorite child, and she could not bring herself to evict him from Royal Lodge," Andersen claimed.

"After he became king, Charles began pressuring Andrew to move into more modest quarters at Windsor, but Andrew dug in," Andersen continued. "The disgraced prince has befriended many shady characters over the years, all of whom have deep pockets and might help bail him out financially. Thus far, no one has stepped up. Now that he's battling cancer, the king doesn't have the stomach for another skirmish with his brother. It seems inevitable, however, that Andrew will eventually be tossed out on his ear."

Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid his controversial connection to Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles.

Before her death in 2022, the queen removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, and barred him from using the title "his royal highness" in official settings.

The council in the northern city of York voted unanimously to withdraw the prince’s "freedom of the city." The honor had been awarded to Andrew in 1987 after the queen had made him the Duke of York. He is the first person to be stripped of the status, an honor that dates back to medieval times.

Local leaders have since argued that Andrew should also lose the title of Duke of York. A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment at the time.

In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who reached a settlement with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared that he had never meant to malign her character.

Andrew has denied that he had sex with Giuffre.

It was previously reported that Andrew’s annual allowance of nearly $300,000 was being cut in 2023. His main source of income is his Navy pension and a "substantial inheritance" from his late parents, UK outlets revealed at the time.

"Prince Andrew no longer receives money from the royal purse and is struggling financially as he is not able to keep up with the repairs required at Royal Lodge," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard alleged to Fox News Digital. "The financial upkeep of the property is huge."

"There are whispers that King Charles is now threatening to evict Prince Andrew and possibly move the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family into the prestigious Royal Lodge," Chard alleged. "[But] King Charles finds it a struggle to issue harsh ultimatums to family. He also has the added pressure of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s words, ringing in his ears … to look after Prince Andrew."

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Chard believes that the king would give Andrew "a short window of time" to keep up with his expenses to live in Royal Lodge.

"I feel that this is the beginning of a debate about all royal properties," she said. "The royal properties will soon be under renewed scrutiny."

Kinsey Schofield, host of the To Di For Daily podcast, is adamant that the king, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, won’t evict his brother – at least not yet.

"The King will not evict Prince Andrew," Schofield insisted. "I also believe that King Charles promised the late Queen Elizabeth that he would protect Andrew."

"Pressure for Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage is not over yet though," she noted. "[But] there will always be a place for Andrew. It might not be his first choice, but he will have a comfortable roof over his head as long as he stays out of trouble."

Royal author and Vanity Fair correspondent Katie Nicholl previously claimed to Fox News Digital that the queen had remained close to the Duke of York until her death.

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"She saw Andrew very, very regularly right up until her death," said Nicholl. "They remained incredibly close, and she was very protective of him."

"My understanding was that [the queen] did quiz him," said Nicholl. "She asked him about the Epstein allegations and about his relationship with Virginia Giuffre. They had a very honest conversation, and Andrew assured her that he was innocent of those allegations. She believed him. This was her son, after all. And she didn’t just believe him. She stood by him."

Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead behind bars in 2019 at age 66. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan prosecuted Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.

Andrew has retained his title as the Duke of York and maintains his place in the line of succession to the British throne. However, he may not use the title of HRH or "His Royal Highness" in any capacity.

In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Though Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, he agreed to an out-of-court settlement paid to the American woman in February 2022.

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The settlement amount was reported to be anywhere between $3.6 million to $14.8 million.

In 2022, Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Epstein's former attorney, the law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she "may have made a mistake" in identifying him as an abuser.

Andrew was named in previously secret court documents related to Epstein that were unsealed in the new year. It was part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Giuffre.

The records – including transcripts of interviews with some of Epstein’s victims and old police reports – contained reminders that the millionaire had surrounded himself with famous and powerful figures, including a few who have also been accused of misconduct.

Original article source:King Charles struggles to evict Prince Andrew as disgraced royal's home is in 'total disrepair': experts