A royal expert has suggested that King Charles’s main priority could be sorting out the situation with Prince Andrew before Prince William becomes monarch. In recent weeks, there has been intense focus on Andrew, 65, after the disgraced royal dropped his royal titles following more scrutiny of his interactions with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Following Andrew’s decision to no longer use his Duke of York title, after consultation with both William and Charles, there have been questions over whether he should be allowed to use the Prince prefix too. Whilst that is up for further debate, Andrew’s announcement that he would drop his titles has raised questions about whether this part of some broader succession plan by the King. Although it is believed that William, 43, won’t take to the throne for many years yet, royal author Phil Dampier has suggested that the King’s main priority could be tidying up the situation with Andrew, so his son won’t have to worry about it in the future.
Speaking to Hello! Magazine, he suggested: “I think the main priority will have been to try to clear this up once and for all, and draw a line under it before William becomes King, so that he doesn’t have to deal with it. They don’t like loose ends.”
Mr Dampier’s comments came amid claims that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have agreed to leave the 30 room Royal Lodge after public outrage over reports about their inhabitation on peppercorn rent.
Speaking about the latest developments, a source told The Sun that it isn’t yet certain how the reported update will be taken by other senior royals. They said: “No one is really sure how it’s going to go down at the palace yet
“Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands. He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at the Royal Lodge is up.
“Sarah and Andy have lived together at Royal Lodge since 2008 despite being divorced … It’s incredible that they are willing to go their separate ways.
“But it indicates that they have been under immense strain this year and need a break from each other. It’s a fresh start for both.”
Although Andrew has reportedly decided leave Royal Lodge, this doesn’t make him homeless, with suggestions he could move to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former home at Frogmore Cottage, or even reside in the soon to be vacated Adelaide Cottage, where William and Princess Kate have lived.
This isn’t the first time Andrew’s move has been discussed in recent months, with royal commentator Richard Eden suggesting that Andrew could move to Adelaide Cottage last month.
Speaking on the Mail’s Palace Confidential programme about the ramifications of William and Kate’s move to Forest Lodge, Mr Eden said: “On a practical level it means immediately that Adelaide Cottage is vacant.
“Perhaps that could be one for Prince Andrew to move in from the massive Royal Lodge that he and Fergie are sharing at the moment, that could be another option for him. We know that he rejected Frogmore Cottage because he regarded it as too small. Perhaps Adelaide Cottage might tickle his fancy.”