LIVING in a 30-room grand estate may be many people’s dream, but Prince Andrew is said to spend days “watching TV in a dark room”.
The disgraced Duke of York, 64, resides at the £30million Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire – at least for now.
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King Charles, 75, has redoubled his efforts to evict the Duke – with insiders branding the stand-off the “siege of Royal Lodge“.
Despite his divorce from Sarah Ferguson in 1996, Prince Andrew lives with his ex-wife at the countryside estate.
Their two children, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, live with their respective husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, and Jack Brooksbank, 38, and kids.
Andrew has now become a “prisoner of his own pride” as he refuses to bow to his brother’s wishes, a friend told The Times.
Here, Fabulous shares inside Prince Andrew’s life at Royal Lodge…
MEGA MANSION
The Royal Lodge in Windsor, a Grade II-listed mega-mansion, has belonged to The Duke of York since the Queen Mother died in 2002.
Prince Andrew‘s royal residence, with its eye-catching white exterior, boasts 30 rooms with plenty of space for entertaining, plus seven bedrooms spread across the two topmost floors.
It’s so big that their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were able to hold their wedding receptions at the family home.
Editor-in-Chief of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward told Fabulous: “It is not a palace, but it is a very grand country home.
“Inside it is classic elegance and full of beautiful antique furniture and rugs.
“Also, the giant TV screen for Andrew but alongside pictures from the royal collection hang on the walls.
“There are always fresh flowers in the main rooms and there is a beautiful well-tended garden with a swimming pool.”
Royal Lodge has a large drawing room, known as the “formal room”, a saloon, and a conservatory.
The grounds include a Gardener’s Cottage, the Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages and police security accommodation.
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BUTLER SERVICE
Ingrid added that life at Royal Lodge is “pretty grand”, and Prince Andrew has staff at his beck and call.
The royal expert added that when you arrive “a butler opens the door and offers guests refreshments and there is a cook and housekeeper.”
The Duke of York also requires staff for the outside of Royal Lodge, which is not a surprise given the home sits within 98 acres of grounds.
Ingrid added: “The grounds are well tended and unless Andrew has taken up gardening would demand the attention of at least one full time gardener.”
DAILY HORSE RIDING
Prince Andrew is said to go horse riding daily to “help him get out”, claims Ingrid.
She added: “He goes riding every day from the royal mews at Windsor castle and that hobby is helping him get out and about albeit in a small way.
“He has given up trying to prove his innocence to the courts and instead is concentrating on putting himself in a better state of mind.”
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CRUMBLING DECOR
Royal Lodge is said to “need extensive repairs”, thought to be about £400,000 a year.
The shamed Duke has reportedly already poured £7.5million into repairs but sources say he cannot continue to meet the bill.
Very little work has been carried out on the property since Andrew spent £7m on repairs when he moved in.
The Sun reported last year the home currently needs an estimated £2million in repairs with the duke reportedly paying £200,000 for roof repairs.
Recent photos showed the Stucco-like outside of the mansion falling away and mould growing on it.
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FAMILY MEMORIES
Prince Andrew and Sarah’s children grew up at the Royal Lodge and a sweet memento from their childhood still remains in the garden – a wooden swing which is engraved with Eugenie’s name.
The pristine garden also boasts two wooden benches which have been positioned underneath the trees, not far from Princess Eugenie’s personalised swing.
‘There is no way back for Prince Andrew’, claims PR guru
PRINCE Andrew’s reputation is damaged beyond repair and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain’s top PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs East of Eden PR agency, called the shamed royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop – a Netflix movie 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 could still be back. Nobody cares. He hasn’t got fans.
“There’s nobody out there who’s going ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not one single person. I think he has to realise that. But I think it’s going to take a long, long time for him to actually understand. It’s very deluded.
“In my opinion, the best thing that he could do is just enjoy his life. He’s got gorgeous daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a lovely house.
“Just live a quiet life.”
Reflecting on the interview five years ago – the fallout of which saw Andrew step back from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” – Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have urged him not to do it.
He said: “If I had been advising him, I would say, go quiet, be quiet, just go to ground. You know you’re a prince. Enjoy the life that you lead, but do not open this can of worms, because that’s what it is.
“There was no admission that a relationship with somebody like Epstein was terribly toxic. There was no idea that there were loads of victims of trafficking whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein. He didn’t seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything but positive.
“I think his worst gaffe was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, for not realising that he’s actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who is going to ask him questions which he might not like.
“But I think what this has done is really shown how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
“Read the room. He’s never read a room at all.”
Royal fans also got a glimpse of the terrace when Sarah showed off a special charity t-shirt she was wearing in July last year.
At the rear of the property there’s a patio area with a wooden dining table and two benches so the family can sit outside when the weather’s fine.
The Royal Lodge also boasts a mini-sized thatched cottage in its grounds, Y Bwthyn Bach (“The Little Cottage”).
It was originally gifted to Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret by the people of Wales.
It’s thought the cottage was restored in 2012 under a plan managed by Princess Beatrice as part of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
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EVICTION FEUD
Last year, Andrew and the King clashed when Charles was said to have wanted to kick his brother out of his home, with courtiers saying Prince William and his family would eventually move into the vast property.
The monarch is said to be becoming increasingly frustrated at Andrew’s refusal to care for Royal Lodge.
Andrew is said to have promised King Charles he would take care of its expensive repairs – despite having no apparent source of income.
The Sun exclusively revealed Andrew had rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were served with eviction.
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Andrew will never return to public duties after paying millions to settle a sex trafficking case linked to Jeffrey Epstein, raising questions over how he will continue to afford badly needed repairs.
Despite mounting costs, he is still refusing to budge – pointing out that he is in possession of a 75-year lease.
A friend told The Times: “It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him. It’s all rather sad.
“But as things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke.
“The only question now is when he will realise that he has become a prisoner of his own pride – and that handing back the keys will afford him far greater comfort, and the continued support of his family.”
It comes as Charles is said to be unwilling to keep paying out of his own pocket to fund Andy’s lavish lifestyle.
Sources close to the monarch claim he could be forced to “reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide” if the so-called siege of Royal Lodge continues.
The disgraced Duke’s police protection was removed when he stepped down from public duty amid the Epstein scandal.
But Charles stepped in to pick up his multi-million pounds private security bill.
The crisis shows no sign of going away after Netflix screened its hit drama Scoop detailing Andy’s ‘car crash’ Newsnight interview.
And there is yet another depiction of his shame in an Amazon series on his downfall where Andy is played by actor Michael Sheen.