Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will remain in their lavish Windsor mansion for the foreseeable future but fear they could be “kicked out” amid an upheaval within the royal family.
The Duke of York is said to be awaiting a letter telling him he will be leaving the Royal Lodge, a 31-bedroom property he has leased from the Crown Estate, at some point in the future.
The concerns come as his brother Charles begins his reign as king, seeking to redeem earlier promises that he will streamline the monarchy.
As part of this, there is expected to be a review of the Crown’s vast property portfolio, which encompasses more than 500,000 acres of land, and how it is being used.
That review could lead to the decision to evict Andrew from the mansion he shares with his ex-wife and the corgis formerly owned by his late mother.
While he is safe in the immediate future after the Queen’s death, sources said he could potentially be told to leave in the future, according to The Sun.
Prince Andrew is reportedly worried he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson could be evicted from their Windsor mansion
The divorced couple live at Royal Lodge, a 31-bedroom mansion in Windsor formerly owned by the Queen Mother
It is believed that the king would be owed a considerable sum of money if he were asked to leave the house.
He signed a preferred but undisclosed 100-year lease on the property formerly owned by the late Queen Mother, which could see him claim up to £7million if severed by the Crown.
The late Queen’s third child has been largely hidden from the public eye in recent years over his association with Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent civil case involving one of the late pedophile’s victims.
While Andrew settled the case in the US without accepting guilt, he was stripped of his royal and military titles and was installed at the behest of King Charles III. and his son Prince William out of the limelight.
Andrew owns no property of his own apart from an £18million ski chalet he so disastrously bought with his ex-wife in Verbier five years ago.
He has now been forced to sell that after failing to make the second installment of £5million he owed to the seller, French socialite Isabelle de Rouvre, who took legal action to get it back.
However, despite accepting an offer for the property a year ago, it has still not been sold, The Sun reports.
A source told the newspaper that Andrew, who was believed to be “under the Queen’s protection”, would not be removed from the Royal Lodge any time soon as it “would seem callous to throw her out so soon after her death”.
They added: “But when he’s off duty during the cost-of-living crisis and rattling around in a £30million mansion then it looks awful.”
A spokesman for the Duke of York did not comment when contacted by The Sun.
The property is owned by the Crown Estate, which is believed to be conducting a portfolio review after Charles becomes king
If he leaves, it’s not clear where he will live after selling his former marital home Sunninghill Park near Windsor, a wedding present from the Queen.
The 12-bedroom property, which has been compared to an out-of-town supermarket, had been on the market for five years before being suddenly bought in 2007 for £15million – £3million over the asking price – by Timur Kulibayev.
Kulibayev is the son-in-law of Prince Andrew’s friend and goose-hunting partner, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former autocratic ruler of Kazakhstan.
Asked about the deal at the time, Mr Kulibayev said the decision to pay £3million over asking price for a property that had been on the market unsold for five years was based on a briefing from Prince Andrew’s warehouse that other parties are interested.
“We can confirm that at the time of purchase we were told that there were multiple prospects,” his spokesman said.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the Duchess of York had bought a £5million luxury property in Mayfair.
Andrew has been forced to put his £18m chalet in the Verbier ski resort on the market
The Duke of York also previously sold his £15million 12-bedroom love nest, Sunninghill Park in Berkshire
The property is meant to be seen as an investment opportunity for her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, but for now it’s Fergie’s only home in London given the question of where she could have found the money.
Her multi-million pound purchase comes despite her repeated complaints of financial difficulties in recent years, during which she described herself as “constantly on the brink of financial bankruptcy” in a 2010 US television interview.
She also admitted to having “little understanding” of money and there were reports she ran up to £4.2million in debt during her marriage to Andrew.
She received £3million from her divorce and most of her income is now likely to come from her books.
Her first corset ripper crept up the bestseller charts last year — though critics branded it a “slogan” without sex. Critics called the book “boring,” but it was initially selling 1,000 copies a week when it was released.
People on the street said the Duchess was seen touring the home in late spring – and saw her run into a waiting vehicle. They admitted they were happy to have another famous neighbor – as long as their ex-husband stays away.
