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Prince Andrew is reportedly refusing to give up his home at Royal Lodge “without a fight”, according to a royal insider. They explained that the Duke was given the keys to Frogmore Cottage by King Charles two months ago, however Andrew has instead chosen to let his youngest daughter Princess Eugenie stay there when she visits the family.
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The King wants to shake up the structure of the royal households as part of his bid to slim down and modernise the monarchy, as well as making some savings in the royal budget.
It has been reported that Andrew would move into Frogmore Cottage after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the property’s original tenants, were asked to vacate in January.
However Andrew, who has lived in the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park since 2003, is not backing down easily.
The source told OK! magazine: “Andrew is adamant that he is staying at Royal Lodge for the remainder of his lease.
“He will not move into Frogmore without a fight. Royal Lodge is his home and he will do everything in his power to remain in the property.
“Prince Andrew was given the keys to Frogmore quite recently and was expected to move in this summer.
“Eugenie is currently staying there to help move out Harry and Meghan’s things while her dad tries to hold on to Royal Lodge. The handover date was expected in July or August but he’s not going anywhere.”
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While Harry and Meghan were said to be surprised at their eviction, they have accepted the decision and have begun moving their possessions out of the house.
The source added: “Prince Harry and Meghan’s eviction seems a bit pointless really because there will now be an empty property on the Windsor estate which seems counterintuitive to the King’s new plans for cutting costs.”
The Sussexes were gifted the cottage by the Queen after their marriage, and despite moving to California in 2020 they had kept the property as their UK base.
During their time as working royals they spent £2.4million renovating Frogmore, however according to one royal expert they will struggle to recoup the money.
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The cost of the refurbishment was initially covered by the taxpayer, however once Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals they paid back the money in full.
Jennie Bond told OK!: “I do wonder what’s going to happen to the £2.4m that was paid by the taxpayer and Harry and Meghan paid it back, so essentially it’s a bit more punishment.
“They paid out for a home they can no longer use, which may hurt a little bit. Would he dare demand that back, from the Sovereign Grant?
“I don’t think he would dare to do that. Another example of actions having monetary consequences.”
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