Have William and Kate dodged a bullet, asks RICHARD EDEN

Have William and Kate dodged a bullet, asks RICHARD EDEN? By clinging on to his home at Royal Lodge, bloody-minded Andrew might actually have done them a favour…

• Prince Andrew fears the King wants William to replace him at Royal Lodge
• But does the Prince of Wales really need another 30-room mansion?

And there is every sign, says Richard Eden, that Prince Andrew will continue living his home of three decades, even though his older brother, King Charles, wants to move him out – and move the Waleses in!

But writing in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter, Eden says this could be good news for William, who already lives in three homes at once, including Kensington Palace and ten-bedroom Anmer Hall.

Prince Andrew has fought a rearguard battle to stay in his home of 30 years – despite apparently lacking the funds to pay for its upkeep

Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park is the former home of the Queen Mother

The Duke has been forced to step back from Royal duties since his alleged involvement in the Epstein scandal – which he denies

The King would like Prince William to move into 30-room Royal Lodge and replace his uncle Andrew. But would that be a good look for William, asks Richard Eden?

‘In my opinion, Andrew may have done his nephew, Prince William, a favour with his stubbornness,’ he writes.

‘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.”‘

The Prince and Princess of Wales had been expected to move their growing family into Royal Lodge in the coming months, after expensive renovations had been carried out. 

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

After all, the Duke of York had paid £1million for a 75-year lease on the Queen Mother’s sprawling Grade II-listed mansion in 2003 and has since spent more than £7.5million on extensive renovation work. 

It is also home to his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.

‘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,’ he writes.

‘Now, however, Andrew appears to have won his power struggle with his elder brother.’

This week, it was reported that the King had given Andrew permission to ‘stay indefinitely’ at the 30-room Royal Lodge, which sits in 98 acres of land in Windsor Great Park, after they ‘thrashed out a new deal’.

Richard Eden believes that William and Kate might have dodged a bullet

The Prince and Princess of Wales already live in Kensington Palace, picture, Anmer Hall and Adelaide Cottage

It has been reported that the King has accepted that Andrew will remain at Royal Lodge for the time being

William and Kate certainly aren’t short of homes. 

Currently, they live in the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage at Windsor. 

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

In addition, they own Anmer Hall, a ten-bedroom country house on the Sandringham Estate.

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