King Charles III Was Outwitted by Prince Andrew in the Battle for Royal Lodge

King Charles III probably thought he had the winning strategy to get his younger brother, Prince Andrew, out of Royal Lodge once and for all. However, he didn’t realize that the Duke of York had one more trick up his sleeve when saving himself from eviction. 

Charles thought that cutting off Andrew’s $1.3 million annual allowance, would put the nail in the coffin and he would be forced to move out. But in this game of royal survivor, the monarch was outwitted and outplayed by his brother to outlast him in the Windsor residence. Prince Andrew found a way to maintain his lifestyle and win what The Times describes as “the siege of Royal Lodge.” He will no longer receive public funds, and the media outlet noted that “Prince Andrew’s money has been approved by Sir Michael Stevens, the keeper of the privy purse, as coming from legitimate sources.”

That’s quite a blow to Charles, who tried hard to get the Duke of York to move into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former home, Frogmore Cottage. The downsize would have been significant for Andrew, who is accustomed to a 30-room estate. He held firm to the 75-year lease that he signed in 2003 with the Crown Estate — he was not going to be evicted without a fight. Still, Prince Andrew has his doubters.

Financial expert Norman Baker raised questions with the Daily Mail about where the funds came from. “It is stretching credibility to believe he has legitimate sources of income that enable him to pay a big rent and undertake the necessary repair work, to that building, particularly when he appeared to have nothing just a matter of weeks ago,” he expressed his concern. “We need to understand where this money is coming from – whether it is clean or whether it is coming from one of his nasty dictator friends in the Middle East. He should come clean.”

Prince Andrew has been in hot water before over his sources of income, particularly during his friendship with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson found herself in hot water when she accepted almost $16,000 from Epstein to pay off a debt. 

“I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me,” she told the Evening Standard in 2012. “I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say. Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”

With Prince Andrew winning another real estate round, Charles will now have to figure out what to do with Frogmore Cottage which stands vacant after Harry and Meghan’s forced exit.

Before you go, click to see all the biggest royal scandals in the past 50 years.