King Charles Wants to Remove "Treasures" From Royal Lodge to Force Prince Andrew Out

He's raising the stakes amid the brothers' ongoing battle.

King Charles is increasing the stakes in his ongoing housing drama with Prince Andrew. The brothers have been embroiled in a years-long battle over Andrew’s residence at Royal Lodge, with the monarch cutting off his younger brother’s allowance and private security as an “ultimatum” to get his brother to move into a smaller residence. However, Andrew has dug his heels in throughout the eviction attempts—and now, Buckingham Palace could consider taking more drastic measures that might make it very uncomfortable for the prince to continue living in the Windsor estate.

Amid reports that the Royal Lodge is falling into disrepair with approximately $320,000 worth of repairs needed, a royal expert says there’s a chance that the Palace will begin removing furniture and other “treasures” from Andrew’s home, which he shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. In addition to all the needed renovations, the Duke of York now also has to pay for his private security detail on his own dime.

Robert Hardman, author of King Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, said that since the 31-room property has been "a house that always belonged to someone who performed public duties on behalf of the nation,” it was decorated as such—but government officials might not feel comfortable with housing some of the more priceless and historically significant pieces there anymore.

"The Royal Collection, which owns quite a lot of the treasures inside there, may say, 'Well we can't be confident that this place is safe anymore,' and they'll start taking the paintings and the some of the furniture away,” Hardman said on an episode of the Daily Mail's Palace Confidential YouTube series.

However, Hardman noted that it’s not completely up to King Charles whether Prince Andrew leaves the estate, which he’s lived in for decades and has a lease with until 2078. While the king has been trying to force Andrew’s hand since the disgraced prince stepped down from his royal duties in 2019, Andrew has been pushing back. According to recent reports, the prince raised the $320,000 needed for the building’s repairs with the help of Princess Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Andrew might be staying put for now, but Hardman argued it was unlikely that the Duke of York could continue footing the “many millions of pounds a year” to continue staying at Royal Lodge. "How much longer can he continue plundering his savings to pay these very substantial bills?" he added.

An insider previously told The Mirror that King Charles plans to see the move through, saying, "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.”