The "bitter" feud between King Charles and Prince Andrew over the Duke of York's home, Royal Lodge, was said to rival the relations between Prince William and Prince Harry at one point, but a new (and rather interesting) development might just change all of that. Prince Andrew recently came up with enough money to carry out the much-needed repairs to stay in his home, and according to the Mail on Sunday's editor-at-large, Charlotte Griffiths, the mysterious source of the cash is none other than The King himself.
"I have heard from multiple sources that, far from cutting Andrew off, Charles has personally cleared his errant brother's bills for his upkeep and promised his Royal Lodge woes are taken care of, enabling him to stay there for the foreseeable future," Griffiths reported.
The editor continued that someone at a "glamorous—and usually ultra-discreet—dinner table told her that "Charles has paid for it all. The King has cleared it. It's all done" The dinner guest, "who's been a guest at Royal Lodge in years gone by," added that The King had paid for everything personally, and not from taxpayer money.
Royal Lodge, as Griffiths puts it, "is crumbling on the outside and cluttered on the inside, much reduced from its glory days as the Windsor residence of the Queen Mother." Prior reports have claimed that the historic property is plagued with mold and in need of hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs—money that the jobless Duke of York, who was reportedly cut off from his allowance by The King, just doesn't have (until now, at least).
Since the duke didn't have the funds to keep up with the extensive maintenance costs on the home, King Charles had reportedly tried to get his brother to downsize into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former house, Frogmore Cottage.
However, there's been no signs of movement on Andrew's part, with insiders claiming the Duke of York has been adamant to stay in his beloved home and that leaving could be seen as an admission of guilt when it comes to the sexual assault claims that were made against him and later settled of court.
One insider told Griffiths that the Duke of York "just doesn't have that many friends any more. He barely goes out, he's not that welcome anywhere." That being said, the person went on to claim the source of Prince Andrew's money has "got to be family, and the obvious person is the King. I mean, why would anybody who's not family want to give him money when they're not going to get anything out of it except a lot of flack?"
Griffiths went on to muse that The King might just not want to drag out the situation any longer, but that Charles could have personal reasons for wanting to save Royal Lodge that have nothing to do with his brother. The King has "a passionate interest in architecture and conservation," so it's unlikely he'd be happy to see Royal Lodge crumbling into disrepair, but it was also the home of not only his grandmother, the Queen Mother, but his mother, Queen Elizabeth, when she was a child.
The other theory? A source told Griffiths that "Charles simply can't betray his brother." Queen Elizabeth was famously close with Prince Andrew, and perhaps Charles decided to dig down deep and ask "What Would Elizabeth Do?" Only time will tell how this situation plays out, but if Andrew does stay at Royal Lodge, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie could inherit the property in the future.
