Prince William “pressured” princesses Eugenie and Beatrice to encourage Andrew to leave Royal Lodge amid growing public fury over his rent-free arrangement, according to new reports.
The Prince of Wales reportedly sat down with Andrew’s daughters and threatened to “re-examine” their titles if they did not ask their father to leave the property, according to the News Agents podcast.
Prince Andrew is reported to be in “advanced talks” over leaving the 30-room mansion after it emerged he had paid a “peppercorn rent” for the last 20 years.
It comes after reports the disgraced royal hosted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Lodge just days before the financier’s arrest.
Epstein stayed at the Windsor mansion alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein as part of Andrew’s daughter Beatrice’s masked ball 18th birthday celebrations in 2006, reports the BBC.
The financier was arrested by police in Florida eight days after the event.
In 2019, Andrew told BBC Newsnight he “wasn’t aware” Epstein had an arrest warrant on his head when he was invited to his daughter’s birthday celebrations.
In recent weeks, Prince Andrew has faced continuing furore over his ties to Epstein, and the publication of the posthumous memoirs by his sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre. Andrew strenuously denies all accusations.
Comment: Prince Andrew is in danger of dragging the late Queen’s name down with him
All the royal titles Prince Andrew has given up
Earlier this month, Prince Andrew relinquished all of his royal titles ahead of the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir.
While he is still a prince, Andrew will no longer use his Duke of York title, but he will still retain his dukedom, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament.
You can read about all of the royal titles Prince Andrew has given up below…
Comment: Prince Andrew can’t outrun Epstein’s shadow or America’s questions
Workers ‘frantically’ getting Frogmore Cottage ready for Andrew, reports say
Workers have been in and out of Frogmore Cottage for “weeks” getting ready for Prince Andrew, reports say.
Sources told The Sun people have been working “day and night” in the cottage, which is believed to be a likely option for Prince Andrew’s next home.
“People have been inside Frogmore Cottage working day and night,” the source said. “Over the weekend the lights were on after dark.
“And workmen have been coming and going for weeks. It shouldn’t need a lot of work done as Harry and Meghan spent £2.4million on repairs just six years ago and no one has lived there since, apart from the few months Princess Eugenie was there during lockdown.”
Harry and Meghan, who lived in the cottage between April 2019 and March 2020, reportedly spent £2.4 million on renovations.
Recap: Downing Street dismisses calls for MPs to be given time to debate Prince Andrew
Watch: Epstein survivor calls on Prince Andrew to give information on ‘what he saw’ in mansion
Recap: Four out of five Britons want Prince Andrew to be formally stripped of his dukedom
Four out of five Brits want Prince Andrew to be formally stripped of his dukedom, a poll from YouGov revealed.
The prince has already announced his intention to stop using the Duke of York title – but only an Act of Parliament can remove it officially.
The survey showed that 63 per cent of nearly 6,700 adults questioned were “strongly” in favour of formal removal of the dukedom and 17 per cent “somewhat” supporting the idea, while 6 per cent were opposed to it – 4 per cent somewhat and 2 per cent strongly – and 14 per cent did not know.
The Met failed Virginia Giuffre when she accused Prince Andrew – they must not do so again
Where is Frogmore Cottage?
The cottage is located on the Frogmore estate, part of Home Park in Windsor, England.
It was built near Frogmore House under the Queen Charlotte’s orders.
However, it was not always known as its current name. It was originally named Double Garden Cottage.
In 1875, Queen Victoria had breakfast there. A volume of letters written by her, it was revealed that she had seen an “immense number of little frogs” during her brief time there, which she found “quite disgusting”.
Where Prince Andrew could move to if he leaves Royal Lodge
Prince Andrew is said to be in “advanced talks” over his exit from Royal Lodge after his rent-free arrangement was revealed.
But where would he go? Harriette Boucher takes a look at the disgraced royal’s options.
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