DEFIANT DUKE
‘Lazy’ Prince Andrew is ‘hung up on image & grandeur’ & is ‘allowing himself to be humiliated’ amid Royal Lodge row
Scroll down for more on Prince Andrew's 'crumbling' Royal Lodge
PRINCE Andrew is "hung up on image and grandeur" and is "allowing himself to be humiliated", claims a royal pro.
According to esteemed royal commentator Jennie Bond, the real reason the disgraced Duke of York, 64, has not left Royal Lodge is because he cares so much about his “status”.
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The challenges Andrew has faced over the past five years have been well-documented - with his apparent determination to stay at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor being the latest bone of contention.
In line with King Charles' plans to downsize the monarchy, Prince Andrew was offered a move from his mansion to the slightly smaller Frogmore Cottage, which was recently refurbished by Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan Markle, 43.
And, after claims that Queen Elizabeth II was also considering following a similar path as King Charles on having her second son move out of Royal Lodge, a royal expert has questioned why the Duke is "allowing himself to be so humiliated".
Speaking exclusively to , former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond asks: "I wonder why he is allowing himself to be so humiliated?”
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She adds: “He could live at Frogmore, which has enough room for Fergie and the rest of the family to visit when they want.
“It is close to the castle and it would give him the chance to calm down relations with his brother, so what is stopping him? Status.
“He is hung up on image and grandeur."
Prince Andrew’s home, Royal Lodge, is a £30million 19th century listed Windsor pad that he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
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It was where the late Queen Elizabeth spent part of her childhood and boasts 40 hectares of woodland and lawns, eight cottages, and lodgings for security personnel.
But Andrew, who moved into Royal Lodge, the former home of the Queen Mother, in 2004 - has refused to move, after taking on a lease that lasts until 2078.
‘Selfish’ Prince Andrew has NO respect for Charles after letting his ‘free’ house ROT - he has to go, royal expert says
While Royal Lodge has a rich and fascinating history, much of which is tied to the life of The Queen Mother, recent pictures highlighted the home's state of disrepair, something which Jennie says will have made the late monarch consider other possibilities.
Jennie continues: "I think the late Queen probably realised that it didn't look good to have a disgraced Prince living in a mansion for a peppercorn rent.
“Andrew was very much in awe of his mother and would have obeyed her if she had put her foot down and asked him to leave.
“Charles’s big squeeze on his brother has been a long time coming and his patience has run out.
"It is interesting that the Queen was apparently of a like mind."
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Reflecting on how the ongoing debate looks to the public after Prince Andrew's very public fall from grace, Jennie claims: “This is not just money, it is how it looks: an idle and disgraced Duke swanning around on his horse, watching aircraft taking off or landing on a big screen and driving his Range Rover about his sizeable estate with no visible means of income except what his mother, and now his big brother, choose to give him. It’s not a good image."
It has been reported that the plan was to have the Duke move from Royal Lodge and relocate a short distance away to Frogmore Cottage, which was vacated by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they gave it a £2.4 million renovation.
Inside Prince Andrew's 'crumbling' Royal Lodge
THE disgraced Duke of York resides at the £30million Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire - at least for now.
King Charles 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.
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.
The Duke of York is said to spend all day "watching TV in a dark room" like a prisoner at his "crumbling" home.
Royal Lodge is said to "need extensive repairs", thought to be about £400,000 a year.
The monarch is said to be becoming increasingly frustrated at Andrew’s refusal to care for the colossal mansion.
Andrew is said to have promised he would take care of its expensive repairs - despite having no apparent source of income.
Jennie says: “Charles has given him plenty of time and a very generous option to move into Frogmore cottage which is within the security cordon and has recently had an expensive makeover.
"Yes, that‘s just the cost of the renovation, far far more than most people dream of having in their entire lifetime. And yet he seems to think it is beneath him.
“What’s the answer? Earn his living - but the reputation of the monarchy is at stake and Andrew has shown profound lack of judgement, at the very least, over his friendship with the convicted late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“Can he be trusted to show any judgement over the kind of work he might undertake to provide an income?"
This is not just money, it is how it looks: an idle and disgraced Duke swanning around on his horse...It’s not a good image
Jennie Bond
It’s no wonder eyebrows are being raised over how Andrew can afford his upkeep, given he was stripped of his status after becoming embroiled in a scandal due to his association with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre and handed over millions to settle the case against him - although he has always vehemently protested his innocence and insisted he never even met her.
'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.”
Andrew appeared on BBC current affairs show Newsnight for a now infamous interview with Emily Maitlis in November 2019.
While Andrew initially believed his BBC interview had gone 'quite well’, millions of TV viewers thought otherwise.
Following a massive backlash, the Duke announced he would 'step back from public duties’.
Andrew said in his statement: “It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.
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“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”
Now, Andrew is now said to live a rather reclusive existence - spending his days playing golf, riding and watching television behind the walls of his estate - the refuge he is said to be desperate to hang on to.
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