Prince Andrew’s days at Royal Lodge may be numbered. Talks with Buckingham Palace are reportedly in progress, and it seems King Charles III has finally achieved what he’s been trying to do for some time.
According to Emily Maitlis, it all comes down to a private meeting between Prince William and his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. On her podcast The News Agents, Maitlis said that when the first rumors started that Andrew might have to leave Royal Lodge, William met with his cousins and pushed them to convince their father to go.
William allegedly said they would have to "rethink" their titles if their father were not to leave Royal Lodge. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment, and sources quoted by the Daily Mail say they don’t recognize this version of events.
It’s widely known that William takes a tough stance regarding his uncle, but he doesn’t actually have the power to remove his cousins’ titles. Beatrice and Eugenie have always been close to King Charles and are seen as loyal and reliable.
They’ve managed to stay out of the drama surrounding their father and have often helped out when the royal family needed them. That loyalty has earned them a special place in the King’s good graces, but perhaps that’s now being tested.
Maitlis, who conducted the infamous 2019 interview with Andrew after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, recalled how that conversation badly damaged his reputation and led him to step back from public life.
Six years later, new reports have renewed pressure on Andrew. In a recent statement through Buckingham Palace, he agreed to stop using his titles and honors, a move that also affects his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, though not their daughters.
Andrew’s situation at Royal Lodge is complicated. He lives there with Ferguson under a long-term lease with the Crown Estate, which allows him to pay a symbolic rent, known as a peppercorn rent, often just one pound a year. While legal, that arrangement has drawn criticism and made his position harder to defend.
Now, with Emily Maitlis suggesting that Prince William’s ultimatum may have played a part, the pressure on Andrew to leave his Windsor home could be reaching its final stage.