A bitter row between Buckingham Palace and Royal Lodge over plans for Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s new homes escalated into a full-blown civil war after nearly three years of strained talks.
The King insisted his brother, engulfed by the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, must quit his 31-room Windsor mansion, but efforts to force him out dragged on without resolution, The Sun reported.
Insiders say pressure mounted when Andrew and his ex-wife relinquished their Duke and Duchess of York titles and it emerged they had not paid rent on Royal Lodge for 20 years.
Each side began briefing against the other as the two brothers became locked in a stand-off over the Queen Mother’s beloved former home. During “advanced talks”, Andrew, the late Queen’s favourite son, suggested he would leave Royal Lodge in exchange for Frogmore Cottage, where workmen and decorators have been seen working round the clock.
Inside Frogmore Cottage where Charles is 'desperate' for Andrew to move to The 65-year-old Prince was first offered the Grade II-listed house when Prince Harry and Meghan were ordered to leave it in January 2023. Front view of Frogmore Cottage, a white brick house with black trim and dark doors, surrounded by green trees and a lawn, as per The Sun.
Sarah Ferguson, 66, had asked for Adelaide Cottage after Prince William and Kate’s expected move to Forest Lodge early next month. A source close to Ferguson maintains it was the palace that first offered her Adelaide Cottage in May.
Royal sources immediately denied the claim, saying Adelaide Cottage was never offered to the ex-Duchess of York, though they did not dispute that she had asked for the property, which lies a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle. The war of words reflects the hostility of what insiders call a “Game of Homes” royal housing crisis.
The ongoing saga has also been dubbed the “Siege of Royal Lodge”. Andrew and Sarah, who have not been seen leaving their home for nearly four weeks, are reportedly under “immense pressure” to move.
Prince William was even drawn into the row, with claims he sought to pressure Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice to persuade their parents to quit Royal Lodge.
An insider said: “The palace has been trying to get Andrew and Sarah to leave Royal Lodge for almost three years now. But it’s the ugliest it has ever been. Claims and counterclaims about who was offered what and when show it’s not going well.”
There has been no official announcement on any new properties for the couple, although “advanced talks” have been under way for several weeks. Mystery remains over a supposed statement on the duo’s housing status last Thursday.
Andrew holds a lease on Royal Lodge running until 2078 and could receive a large settlement if he leaves early. He has paid no rent for 20 years, and Ferguson has lived there since 2008 despite their 1996 divorce. Grade II-listed Royal Lodge sits in Windsor Great Park and has a garden the size of about 60 football pitches.
The Georgian mansion, leased from the Crown Estate, features a drawing room, conservatory, seven bedrooms, a 15-metre-long saloon and a two-storey wing.
Andrew took on the lease from his grandmother, the Queen Mother, and spent £7.5 million on renovations when he moved in 22 years ago. Though owned by the Crown Estate, it would fetch up to £30 million on the open market, far more than Frogmore and Adelaide cottages combined. Work at Frogmore Cottage in 2019 cost the taxpayer £2.4 million.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex repaid the sum after an outcry when they quit for the US in 2020. Andrew was said to have been first offered the house three years later when King Charles formally evicted Harry and Meghan.
Adelaide Cottage, described as a “modest” family home with four bedrooms, sits five minutes from Frogmore Cottage and could potentially become Andrew’s new home. It was modernised in 2015 and required no work when William and Kate moved in three years ago.
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