Prince Andrew ‘comprehensively humiliated’ King Charles in the Royal Lodge battle

Several days ago, the Crown Estate confirmed something interesting: after King Charles “cut off” Prince Andrew financially, with the hope of driving Andrew out of Royal Lodge, Andrew revealed to the Crown Estate that he had plenty of money to stay at Royal Lodge. Thus, Charles’s two-year-long plot to drive Andrew out of Royal Lodge has ended in a whimper. Charles and his people briefed about Andrew constantly, deflecting to “the Andrew situation” whenever they needed a quick pseudo-positive headline for Charles. It’s been the weirdest gossip thread to follow, because it was perfectly obvious that Andrew has had millions squirreled away for years. Well, now sources close to Andrew are taking a victory lap and saying outright that Charles looks weak and enfeebled for focusing so much time and effort on this ridiculous plot.

While the palace is refusing to comment officially, some of Charles’ friends are furious, saying that he has been badly advised—and calling for heads to roll. The story has sucked up a remarkable amount of royal time and energy since reports Charles wanted Andrew to leave first began appearing in U.K. papers in early 2023, just after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had been booted out of Frogmore Cottage in a kingly fit of pique over Harry’s depiction of the family in his memoir Spare.

Now, 18 months later, the king’s camp have been forced to admit what Andrew’s side have told The Daily Beast and others from day one; they don’t have a legal leg to stand on and Andrew and his heirs are entitled to stay at the fabulous, ten-bedroomed, crenelated mansion on 90 acres until his lease expires in…2078!

One friend of Charles and Camilla’s said: “Whoever advised the king to set off on this road and keep going down this road has very serious questions to answer. Charles loathes incompetence above all else. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some people quietly clear off at Christmas never to be seen again.”

Another friend of the family said: “I’m afraid it’s another reflection of the family’s fundamental dysfunction. Normal families don’t have these kinds of arguments. The king’s aides were foolish to wash the family’s dirty linen in public in this way.”

Friends of Andrew told The Daily Beast this weekend they were happy for the disgraced duke. One said: “We are thrilled for Andrew. Andrew has a cast iron lease on the property so god knows why Charles chose to pick this battle. He has been comprehensively humiliated. It’s hard to imagine anyone would have any interest in where Andrew is living if Charles’ aides had not spent the past year banging on about it. He was never going to just walk away from the property; the lease is a valuable asset he intends to leave to his children, and maybe William will be glad of having Eugenie or Beatrice there in years to come. It’s a great result for Andrew and Sarah. It’s absurd that Charles wasn’t dissuaded from launching this campaign against them in the first place, but then to continue it this year, when the king has been so ill, was, frankly, nuts.”

[From The Daily Beast]

While Andrew is obviously trash, I have to admit, in this very limited situation, I’m fine with him “winning” and I agree that Charles put himself in a losing position, and that this was a humiliating defeat for Charles. You would have thought that the biggest crisis for the monarchy was Andrew’s valid lease on Royal Lodge, that’s the way “palace sources” banged on and on about it for two years. It looks like QEII was able to protect her favorite son much better than she protected her favorite grandson. Remember, Charles is only now claiming that QEII was the one who wanted Andrew out of Royal Lodge (a lie) AND that she would have evicted the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage as well. Charles is such a dumbass, my god.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.