King Charles is said to be “losing patience” over his scandal-scarred brother Prince Andrew’s plush living arrangements and is looking to relocate him to a smaller property immediately.
The monarch, 75, is keen to “solve” what has been referred to internally as “the Andrew problem” by moving the disgraced Duke of York, 64, to a smaller accommodation, The Times of London reports.
Charles has reportedly been at wits’ end over his brother’s comfortable set up at the $38 million Royal Lodge, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Andrew has lived there since 2004 after he signed a 75-year lease agreement the year before.
After his friendship with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light in 2019, Andrew has found himself on the brink of eviction from the lavish royal digs.
However, it seems as though he’s not looking to move out anytime soon, despite his brother’s best efforts.
After Andrew’s publicly-funded police protection was removed in 2022 following a review by the UK’s Home Office, Charles has been footing the bill on a private security team for his brother.
The king forks out an estimated $4 million each year on his disgraced brother’s protection, the outlet adds.
According to insiders, the sovereign has now made it clear to his brother that there are “only two possible options” left.
The first would involve Andrew remaining at the property, but he would have to fund his $4 million-per-year security alone.
Should Andrew opt in, Charles would also scrap the financial help he offers to his brother for all of his living expenses.
The other option, one that the king has been actively exploring, is having Andrew downsize to “more suitable accommodation” — something he has reportedly been adamantly against.
It’s understood that the king is happy to continue to cover his brother’s living expenses if he moves into Frogmore Cottage.
Charles has also said he will continue to provide for Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
“It is now two years into the King’s reign and he wants the matter settled,” a source told the outlet.
In a further blow amid his fall from grace to Andrew, he was named in the Epstein document dump in January.
Since then, Charles has been struggling to boot his brother from the property.
Meanwhile, Andrew has been refusing to downsize to Frogmore Cottage, which currently sits empty after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were forced to hand over the keys.
The pair, who reside in Montecito, Calif., vacated the plush five-bedroom property in June 2023, and the home has since seen no new tenants, the annual Sovereign Grant revealed in July.
In an effort to find a loophole around the two options, it has been reported that Andrew plans to bequeath the lease to his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, so that they can use the property after his death.
It comes after it was reported that Charles and Andrew’s ongoing feud has left their siblings “disappointed.”
Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie are reportedly unhappy with the monarch’s handling of things, as is Ferguson and their daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
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