King Charles will show true feelings on 'loose canon' Prince Andrew with Christmas decision

King Charles and Prince Andrew have been embroiled in a stand-off over whether the Duke of York should continue to live in Royal Lodge in Windsor - and with Christmas approaching, the monarch will have a big decision to make about his brother

King Charles and Prince Andrew are seemingly still at odds in the feud over Royal Lodge.

It has long been reported that the King would like his disgraced younger brother to move out of his 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, into the nearby smaller Frogmore Cottage. It is also believed that Andrew's annual £1 million "living allowance" has been withdrawn by Charles, with many left wondering how the Duke of York can continue to pay for the upkeep of the home.

However, Andrew, who lives with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, is digging his heels in and remaining at the property with reports he is now financing the security needed for the property himself.

Andrew was forced to step down from public life in 2019 after a disastrous interview on BBC's Newsnight where he failed to say he regretted his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to royal author Stephen Bates, the King had realised that his younger brother's association with Epstein had made him a 'loose cannon'. And it has now left Charles with a huge decision to make this Christmas - will Andrew be allowed to walk with the rest of the royals to church at Sandringham on Christmas morning?

For the last two years, Andrew has been allowed to make the public journey to church alongside the King, Queen Camilla, his daughter Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and last year, his ex-wife, Sarah. And The Times reports that if Andrew is allowed to join this year, it will show he hasn't been completely frozen out by Charles.

However, Mr Bates says this does not mean a full rapprochement between the brothers and he said: "Charles has a clear sense of the damage Andrew has done to the institution of monarchy."

Since 2004, Andrew has lived at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, which he now shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Royal Lodge dates back to the mid-17th Century but it wasn't until the mid-1930s that it got its first royal residents. In 1931, it was gifted to George VI and the Queen Mother - the then Duke and Duchess of York - as a weekend retreat.

The Queen Mother made several additions to the property and it also features a mini cottage or Wendy house called Y Bwthyn Bach, which was gifted to the late Queen - then Princess Elizabeth - in 1932. Even after the King died in 1952, it was still used as a grace and favour home by the Queen Mother up until she died there in March 2002, with the late Queen by her side.

Following the Queen Mother's death, Royal Lodge was leased to Prince Andrew. Along with the main house, the lease included the Gardener's Cottage, the Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages, police security accommodation and a whopping 40 hectares of land. He was required to pay for any renovations himself, which reportedly were in the region of £7.5million.

In 2004, he then moved into Royal Lodge with his two daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and soon after so did his ex-wife Sarah after signing a 75-year lease.

Frogmore Cottage, the home reportedly being earmarked for Andrew, was formerly the UK residence of Harry and Meghan. Last year, the couple were forced to hand back the keys to the property at the request of the King as they had hardly used the home since they dramatically quit the UK to live in California.

Harry and Meghan handing back the property and potentially moving Andrew into it has been seen by many as a plan drawn up by the King. However, according to the updated version of King Charles III: New King. New Court by Robert Hardman, this plan had actually been devised by the late Queen.

Citing an insider source, Mr Hardman said: "'Had she lived another year, he would have been out'. It was her plan to move him out, to end the lease for the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage and to move Andrew in there. It was mainly a money thing, as she could see it was becoming unsustainable.'"