HE may live in a huge £30 million mansion but Royal Lodge brings “struggles” for Prince Andrew.
The disgraced Duke of York, 64, currently resides at Windsor Great Park accommodation in Berkshire, which has 30 bedrooms, one swimming pool and large plots of land.
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Although the house looks impressive at first glance, it is said to be “in need of major repairs”, estimated to cost around £400,000 a year.
The embarrassed Duke has reportedly invested £7.5 million in renovating and maintaining the Royal Lodge in the past, but sources say he cannot continue to attend the bill.
The Sun reported last year that the house currently needs around £2 million worth of repairs.
Recent photos showed the stucco outside the mansion falling apart and mold growing on it.
Prince Andrew He lost his public funding when he stepped down as a senior royal due to sexual abuse allegations and could also lose the Royal Lodge, which he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
As part of the loss of its public funding, it also lost the protection of the £3 million a year taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police, who were replaced by private security officers.
The monarch is said to be increasingly reluctant to continue paying out of his own pocket to fund Andrew’s lavish lifestyle – and has threatened to withdraw more than £4million a year he allegedly provides.
Royal experts say Andrew has stubbornly clung to his HRH title, which he can use in private while hobnobbing with wealthy friends like billionaire Johan Eliasch, with whom he was spotted ahead of the release of Netflix drama Scoop.
FROGMORE REFUSAL
The Sun exclusively revealed that Andrew rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were ordered evicted.
Despite rising costs, he still refuses to budge – pointing out that he has a 75-year lease – with insiders calling the impasse a “siege of the Royal Lodge”.
A friend told The times: “It can be done in an organized or disorderly manner. It can be done with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him. It’s all very sad.
“But as things stand, life at Royal Lodge is likely to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the Duke.
“The only question now is when he will realize he has become a prisoner of himself. pride – and that returning the keys will provide you with much greater comfort and the continued support of your family.”
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EUGE BUSINESS
It was reported that Prince Andrew plans to bequeath the lease of Royal Lodge to his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, upon his death.
Podcaster Svar Nanan-Sen said on The Royal Record podcast: “A report this week discussed that a possible motivation for Andrew’s holding out is that he sees the Royal Lodge as part of Beatrice and Eugenie’s heritage.
“The contract still has 54 years left, Andrew is 64, so there is a strong possibility that at some point this could be passed on to his daughters.”
According to GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker Beatrice and Eugenie “don’t want Royal Lodge”.
Their two children, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, live with their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, and Jack Brooksbank, 38, and children.
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EXPENSIVE STAFF
Ingrid added that life at Royal Lodge is “very grand” and Prince Andrew has a team at his disposal.
The royal expert added that when you arrive “a butler opens the door and offers guests refreshments and there is a cook and a housekeeper.”
The Duke of York also needs staff for the exterior of the Royal Lodge, which is no surprise as the house sits on 98 acres of land.
Ingrid added: “The grounds are well looked after and unless Andrew has taken over gardening it would require the attention of at least one full-time gardener.”
Real estate expert and founder of Bramlett Residential Eric Bramlett says that maintaining and maintaining real residences is expensive and complicated business.
He told Fabulous: “Maintaining a historic royal residence is a huge task that requires a full team of experts working tirelessly all year round.
“One of the biggest challenges facing these historic royal residences is the exceptional regulatory hurdles.
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“There are strict rules about what updates or changes can be made.
“Architects and designers spend hundreds of hours carefully planning any changes and selecting appropriate materials that align with preservation standards.
“After that, you will have highly skilled tradespeople such as plasterers, carpenters, upholsterers and specialist painters dedicating hundreds of extra hours to meticulously execute restoration plans.
“You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get approvals for even small changes.
“Providing materials, tools and skilled artisans capable of working on centuries-old building materials and antique furniture is no easy task either.”
He added that the “costs are “substantial” and the renovations are a “labor of love for the staff committed to the work.”
‘There is no way back for Prince Andrew,’ says PR guru
PRINCE Andrew’s reputation is irreparably damaged and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain’s leading PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs PR agency East of Eden, called the embarrassed royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and encouraged him to give it up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop – a Netflix film 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 might still be back. Nobody cares. He has no fans.
“There is no one out there who says ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not a single person. I think he has to realize that. But I think it’s going to take a long, long time for him to really understand. He is very deluded.
“In my opinion, the best thing he could do is enjoy life. He has beautiful daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a beautiful house.
“Just live a peaceful life.”
Reflecting on the interview from five years ago – the fallout of which led to Andrew stepping back from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” – Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have encouraged him not to do it.
He said: “If I was advising him, I would say, stay still, stay still, just get on the ground. You know you’re a prince. Enjoy the life you lead, but don’t open that can of worms, because that’s what it is.
“There was no admission that a relationship with someone like Epstein was terribly toxic. There was no idea that there were many trafficking victims whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein. He didn’t seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything other than positive.
“I think his worst faux pas was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, not realizing that he was actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who was going to ask him questions that he might not have liked. .
“But I think what this did really showed how archaic Prince Andrew is in his views and thoughts.
“Read the room. He never read a room.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
