Prince Andrew’s ‘crumbling’ Royal Lodge home where duke is ‘prisoner’ and spends all day ‘watching TV in dark room’
PRINCE Andrew is spending all day “watching TV in a dark room” like a prisoner at his “crumbling” home.
The revelation comes as King Charles, 75, has redoubled his efforts to evict the disgraced Duke – with insiders branding the stand-off the “siege of Royal Lodge“.
Andrew has now become a “prisoner of his own pride” as he refuses to bow to his brother’s wishes, a friend told The Times.
But that prison is falling apart as Royal Lodge “needs extensive repairs” thought to be about £400,000 a year.
The stately home sits in Windsor State Park, Berks, several miles south of Windsor Castle.
Andrew, 64, moved in after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
The shamed Duke has reportedly already poured £7.5million into repairs but sources say he cannot continue to meet the bill.
Very little work has been carried out on the property since Andrew spent £7m on repairs when he moved in.
The Sun reported last year the home currently needs an estimated £2million in repairs with the duke reportedly paying £200,000 for roof repairs.
Recent photos showed the Stucco-like outside of the mansion falling away and mould growing on it.
The royal, who no longer has official duties, shares the sprawling 30-room mansion in Windsor with just his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Last year, Andrew and the King clashed when Charles was said to have wanted to kick his brother out of his home with courtiers saying Prince William and his family would eventually move into the vast property.
The Sun exclusively revealed Andrew had rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were served with eviction.
Andrew will never return to public duties after paying millions to settle a sex trafficking case linked to Jeffrey Epstein, raising questions over how he will continue to afford badly needed repairs.
Despite mounting costs, he is still refusing to budge – pointing out that he is in possession of a 75-year lease.
A friend told The Times: “It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him. It’s all rather sad.
“But as things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke.
“The only question now is when he will realise that he has become a prisoner of his own pride – and that handing back the keys will afford him far greater comfort, and the continued support of his family.”
It comes as Charles is said to be unwilling to keep paying out of his own pocket to fund Andy’s lavish lifestyle.
Sources close to the monarch claim he could be forced to “reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide” if the so-called siege of Royal Lodge continues.
The disgraced Duke’s police protection was removed when he stepped down from public duty amid the Epstein scandal.
But Charles stepped in to pick up his multi-million pounds private security bill.
The crisis shows no sign of going away after Netflix screened its hit drama Scoop detailing Andy’s ‘car crash’ Newsnight interview.
And there is yet another depiction of his shame in an Amazon series on his downfall where Andy is played by actor Michael Sheen.
'There is no way back'
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.”
