When Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was finally and dramatically “unroyaled” in October, Andrew and King Charles came to some kind of private agreement to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge. We were quickly told that Andrew and Sarah Ferguson wouldn’t be expected to move out of RL right away, that they would move out in the New Year. We still haven’t heard where Andrew will move into on the Sandringham estate. Well, the Sun had an exclusive this weekend about Andrew’s move being delayed. The official excuse is that Andrew is “struggling to downsize,” given that Royal Lodge is a very grand 30-room mansion, and given that there still doesn’t seem to be a confirmation of where Andrew will go next. So, basically, they’re saying he’ll probably move out of RL in February. Well, the Royalist Substack had some tea about what’s going on behind-the-scenes. Something I believe in this story is that Andrew is still negotiating with Charles about what kind of grand “cottage” he gets next.
Disgraced ex-Prince Andrew is still reeling off demands and ultimatums about his future living arrangements, The Royalist can reveal. Incredible as it may seem to those who bought the palace line that he was disgraced and stripped of all privileges, Andrew is demanding a substantial six or seven bedroom house on the Sandringham Estate complete with staff including a cook, gardener, housekeeper, driver and police security, sources have told The Royalist.
A friend of Andrew’s told The Daily Beast: “Andrew has done exactly what has been asked of him and he just wants to be left alone.”
Asked to comment on a report in the British news magazine Private Eye this week which suggested that Andrew is still negotiating about where exactly he will live on the Sandringham Estate, the friend said: “He is giving up the lease on one of England’s finest houses and expects to be treated fairly.”
A former courtier told The Royalist: “Knowing Andrew, this was always going to be about money. Andrew is essentially being bought out of the lease, so he will haggle over every last detail of the deal.”
The palace has previously admitted in background notes made available to members of the U.K. “royal rota” press pool and obtained by The Royalist that Andrew’s lease “has legal force” and that the king had to “respect” it and that “the laws of his own country” required “negotiation” between all parties, and that it is Andrew who must voluntarily surrender the lease. This seems a fancy way of saying he was being bought out.
Andrew’s reluctance to settle is being blamed in some quarters for a new timeline leaking out of the palace via the U.K. newspapers which suggests Andrew might stay in Royal Lodge for several more months to come.
I think it’s interesting that it’s been more than a month since the big Unroyaling and, in that time, Buckingham Palace has not offered any information about where Andrew will go next or what his new circumstances will be. Clearly, Andrew and Charles came to some kind of agreement and under-the-table settlement back in October. But why are they still hammering out some of the larger pieces of the deal? Is Charles balking at the idea of giving Andrew one of the nicer homes on the Sandringham Estate? Is Charles refusing to agree to a figure to buy out Andrew’s Royal Lodge lease? Is Charles nickel-and-diming Andrew over how many staffers he can have? Because it sounds like all of the above – more dithering from Charles, with Andrew in a strong negotiating position.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
