Eviction or Eggnog? King Charles 'to Show True Feelings' About Royal Lodge Drama With 'Loose Cannon' Prince Andrew as New Year Approaches
This Christmas is shaping up to be a showdown between King Charles III and Prince Andrew over the latter's home of 21 years, the Royal Lodge. The royal siblings have been "warring" over Andrew's continued residence in the opulent estate due to the disgraced prince "no longer working for the Crown."
This led royal author Stephen Bates to share how His Majesty views his younger brother as a "loose cannon."
Bates added how the King wants to "send a clear message to Prince Andrew" during the holiday, allegedly by not allowing the Duke of York to walk in the famous royal procession to and from St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate.
The disgraced and former Jeffrey Epstein associate made the journey in front of the world's cameras in 2022 and last year, which were His Majesty's first two Christmases as monarch.
The sovereign has been feuding with Andrew for over two years, and the rift is reported to have nearly "torn the brothers apart." The monarch allegedly allowed the Duke's security detail to expire in late October, sending the "portly prince" into "a panic."
"I wonder why he is allowing himself to be so humiliated?" royal correspondent Jennie Bond asked about Andrew's refusal to leave the "rotting" mansion.
She continued, "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."
Andrew was given the "jewel of the royal residential portfolio" by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2004, two years after its previous occupant, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, passed away. At that time, the Duke of York was a senior, working royal in his mother's court, and represented the U.K. abroad as a Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a role he was given by the Tony Blair government in 2001.
The prince, 64, fell from grace in 2019 when Virginia Giuffre stepped forward to tell the world about her alleged experiences as a victim of s----- abuse by the Duke when she was 17 at an Epstein property. A "disastrous" Newsnight interview that November led Elizabeth II to banish her rumored favorite child from public life, and later strip him of his military honors. He is also not allowed to use his HRH style in public, and Charles III has not altered his mother's decisions.
After the interview, the Duke of York was criticized for his failure to express empathy for Epstein’s victims and for his inability to convincingly explain his friendship with Epstein. Following this, the palace’s response was widely perceived as inadequate. Instead of addressing the public’s concerns or defending Andrew, the palace remained largely silent.
Daily Mirror reported on Bates' remarks.