How Prince Andrew’s property war did Prince William and Kate ‘a favour’

Have William and Kate dodged a bullet? A royal expert seems to think so. Photo / AP

There have been no hints to suggest Prince William will be moving his family into Royal Lodge, the 30-room estate in Windsor Great Park, any time soon.

However, there have been an abundance of tells, says Richard Eden, that the disgraced Prince Andrew will stay on at his abode of 30 years, even though his eldest brother, King Charles, has been pushing for him to move out and make way for the Waleses.

However, Eden revealed in his latest edition of the Palace Confidential newsletter that this could be good news for William, who already lives between three homes: Adelaide Cottage, Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall, which boasts 10 bedrooms.

“In my opinion, Andrew may have done his nephew, Prince William, a favour with his stubbornness,” he shares.

“A friend of the Yorks tells me: ‘I don’t know why the King thought it would look better for William and Catherine to have Royal Lodge in addition to all their other properties than for the Duke and Duchess to remain there.’”

Many people had expected Prince William and Kate to move their growing family into the vast Royal Lodge in the upcoming months after numerous expensive renovations had been carried out.

The Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park pictured in 1942. Photo / Getty Images)

However, as Eden explains, “when King Charles demanded earlier this year that his brother Prince Andrew move out, it was never going to end well”.

This might be due to the fact the Duke of York forked out £1 million ($2.04 million) for a 75-year lease on the Queen Mother’s former mansion in 2003 and has spent more than £7.5 million ($15.33 million) on extensive renovation work since he’s been living on the sprawling estate.

Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York also calls the Royal Lodge home.

“The suggestion that the pair could move into somewhere smaller on the Windsor estate, such as the home from which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been evicted, Frogmore Cottage, rubbed salt into their wounds,” Eden writes.

“Now, however, Andrew appears to have won his power struggle with his elder brother.”

It was revealed this week King Charles had given his younger brother permission to “stay indefinitely” at the 30-room mansion after they “thrashed out a new deal”.

Many people had expected Prince William and Kate to move their growing family into the vast Royal Lodge. Photo / AP

William and Kate certainly haven’t drawn the short stick when it comes to homes either.

At present, the couple live in the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage at Windsor with their three kids.

They also own Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, a 20-room home that was renovated using £4.5 million ($9.2 million) of taxpayers’ money back in 2013.

On top of that, they own Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom country home on Sandringham Estate.