The Prince and Princess of Wales have lived at Adelaide Cottage, about three miles from Forest Lodge, since August 2022.
This summer it was revealed that the Waleses and their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, hope to make the Grade II-listed Forest Lodge their “forever home”.
A source said at the time that the move was intended to be a fresh start after a “brutal” few years for the couple, including cancer diagnoses for both the Princess of Wales and the King.
However, their new home is just a short walk from the Royal Lodge, where Prince Andrew has lived with Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, for more than two decades.
While Prince Andrew is now understood to be in advanced talks with the king’s representatives about leaving his former home, his initial response was to put his foot down and cite the terms of his “cast iron” lease with the Crown Estate.
Buckingham Palace has long tried to pressure the king’s younger brother to voluntarily give up the residency, even cutting his annual allowance last year. And now there is a growing sense of inevitability that Prince Andrew will soon move on.
Prince William is understood to have wanted to stay out of negotiations over his uncle’s removal as he remains on good terms with his cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, but has made it clear he wants the matter resolved.
Andrew’s daughters Beatrice (front) and Eugenie in 2024.Credit: AP
Prince Andrew still has 50 years left on his prepaid lease, and the issue remains of where he will live instead, as well as how much money he will receive in compensation for the millions he has spent on the property.
It has been revealed that the public spending watchdog is willing to help examine Andrew’s finances. Last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed an investigation into the prince’s grace-and-favour mansion deal.
Starmer said he would support a “proper scrutiny” of the deal when asked if he would like to see the Prince brought before Parliament to confront MPs.
In PMQs on Wednesday, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, asked whether Sir Keir would “support a select committee inquiry so that everyone involved would be called to give evidence, including the current occupier”.
Starmer said: “It is important in relation to all properties, Crown properties, that there is proper scrutiny, so I certainly support that.”
The Telegraph, London
