The one Royal Family member who ‘could make Prince Andrew see sense’ over King Charles row

Prince Andrew and King Charles have been at loggerheads for months over the Duke of York’s tenancy of the 30-room Royal Lodge on the Windsor Park estate

King Charles and his younger brother Prince Andrew have been at loggerheads for months over the tenancy of the 30-room Royal Lodge on the Windsor Park estate. The King is said to be keen to move the Duke of York onto greener pastures, and he might even have his replacement lined up.

Last year, it emerged that Andrew, 64, was struggling to meet the £400,000-a-year upkeep costs of the £30 million property. The King has reportedly been eager to end his private funding for security on the estate and move Andrew into more modest accommodation.

However, Andrew signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003, which means his brother has no legal grounds to evict him. This stalemate has led Royal experts to suggest that the only way to solve the impasse is to have a family member “make Andrew see sense”.

On the Palace Confidential podcast, The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent Natasha Livingstone said: “Prince Andrew has been living in the Royal Lodge for about 20 years. The term ‘Lodge’ is slightly misleading because it’s actually 30 bedrooms. The problem is that because he’s not a working royal any more, the public aren’t funding him. But Andrew has his name on the lease for the Lodge, and tied up with that is that he has responsibilities to maintain it.”

Natasha explained that just the regular painting of the Lodge’s exterior is a costly task, and there’s some disagreement over who should foot the bill.

Mail on Sunday’s Editor at Large, Charlotte Griffiths, highlighted an unexpected peacemaker in the Royal Lodge tension Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Despite living in the same residence as Prince Andrew, Fergie could be the key to mending fences between the feuding brothers.

Charlotte posits that while it might seem natural for Fergie and her daughters to side with ‘Team Andrew’, she remarked: “It’s in their interest for him to keep this very grand house because first of all Fergie lives there and second of all there are some reports that the girls might actually inherit it one day, or inherit their lease over it so they might sort of want it want to keep it in the York family.”

However, she also points out that the Duchess of York may wield the necessary clout to push Andrew towards compromise, adding: “She’s actually got this relationship with Charles now that’s getting better and better and stronger and stronger, so she could be a bit of a mediator.”

But Charlotte notes the difficulty anyone will face in resolving this conflict, stating: “these are two of the stubbornest men in England and they’re used to getting their own way.”