Prince Andrew’s latest: Andrew is ‘in advanced talks’ to leave Royal Lodge

Prince Andrew’s residence at the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor has been under heavy surveillance for the past few days.

But this sprawling mansion, set on 98 acres of land, has been used as a residence by the royal family since the 1800s.

Before the Andrews took up residence in the Royal Lodge, it was occupied by King George VI and the Queen Mother when they were still the Duke and Duchess of York.

Princess Elizabeth and Margaret spent a lot of time at the royal lodge, which was used by the family as a country retreat.

In the mid-18th century, military topographer and artist Thomas Sandby lived in the house as Deputy Ranger of the Great Park, giving the property the name Deputy Ranger’s House.

Later, park bailiff Joseph Frost, who became superintendent of the plantations after Sandby’s death, lived there.

George, Prince of Wales, who succeeded George IV as King, used the residence as a temporary residence in 1812.

In 1830 it was almost completely destroyed and rebuilt, except for the conservatory, by order of King William IV. In 1840, it was used as a residence for various officers of the royal family.

A copy of Andrew’s lease from the Crown Estate shows he signed a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge in 2003.

The agreement contains a clause that the Crown Estate must pay Andrew around £558,000 if the lease is abandoned.

It shows that he paid £1m in rent and has since paid a yearly rent of ‘one peppercorn’ ‘on demand’.

The profits from the Crown Estate are handed over to the Treasury for the country’s finances, raising concerns that people may be deprived of the financial resources of the estate due to the peppercorn rent.

He was required to pay a further £7.5m for repairs completed in 2005, according to the National Audit Office.

Prince Andrew’s occupation of the 30-room royal lodge has come under intense scrutiny following new claims in Virginia Giffer’s memoir.

The sprawling Windsor Estate sits on 98 acres of land, which also includes a small cottage called Y Bwthyn Bach, which was given to Princess Elizabeth as a child in 1932 by the people of Wales.

You can read more about the property here…

Prince Andrew is reportedly in talks with the king’s representatives about his exit from the Royal Lodge.

sources said telegraph that Buckingham Palace is trying to convince Andrew to leave the 30-bedroom mansion voluntarily.

The prince has 50 years left on his pre-paid lease and is legally required to receive compensation if he is forced to leave.

The newspaper reported that the main arguments revolved around where he would move and how much compensation he would receive.

The Duke has lived in the cottage for more than 20 years and has paid £1m and another £7m to renovate it.

Prince Andrew may have given up his royal titles, but it seems his fall is far from over.

The royal – once widely said to be Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite child – is facing calls to step down from public life for good as horrific details of the allegations against him are revealed in Virginia Giffer’s posthumous bombshell memoir.

The 65-year-old, who denies any wrongdoing, is also under increasing pressure to give up his 30-bedroom palatial mansion and cooperate with the FBI in their investigation into billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The Independent’s crime reporter Amy Claire Martin explains:

Prince Andrew gave up the Duke of York and his remaining honors last Friday in order to avoid distractions from the work of the King and the Royal Family, but he remains a prince and lives in the Royal Grand Lodge, and the scandal continues to make headlines.

Andrew’s announcement last week came after consultations with the King and Prince of Wales, when it emerged he had emailed pedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 saying: “We are together”, three months after he claimed he had cut all contact with the convicted sex offender.

Downing Street said MPs would not be given a chance to debate Andrew’s behavior because the royals wanted parliament to focus on “important matters”.

The House of Commons could only discuss the Prince’s friendship with Epstein and his rent-free mansion, but the government controls most of Parliament’s time.

Downing Street said it would not allocate time for debate in the chamber, although MPs could still consider the situation in committees.

Broadcasters and photographers gathered outside the gates of the Royal Lodge on Thursday evening amid speculation there could be further developments in the long-running dispute surrounding the late queen’s second son.

Friends of the prince have reportedly told The Telegraph that Andrew believes the king is trying to force him out of the mansion because he wants it as a base for the queen in Windsor if she outlives him.

Buckingham Palace strongly rejected the king’s plan.