Prince Andrew, Duke of York News and Events 8: Sep 2022 -

[hereditarytitles]

I never understood the problem with that house.
The architecture was widely criticized, but surely Andrew and Fergie approved those plans before the building began? So why the disdain afterwards?

As for a new residence, what does Andrew do besides riding? Plays golf, and I assume still has his clubs, so really, just about any (other) royal residence would do.

I believe it is stubbornness and status consciousness. He might think "I am important also and I deserve to live in the Royal Lodge"

 

[Somebody]

And he paid a lease for 75 years...

 

[hereditarytitles]

And he paid a lease for 75 years...

True, but there are requirements , keeping the building in good shape which must be very expensive and can only be achieved if you have adequate funds. There were pictures in some British papers showing that Royal Lodge does need lots of repairs and so far Andrew hasn't been able to do what is needed.

 

[muriel]

One of the headlines above state that if Andrew leaves Royal Lodge the Crown Estate can ask for a million pounds a year in rent or lease arrangements for the property. That’s not small change. If it could be considered worthwhile to deeply upset a sibling in order to get it is debatable though.

If Andrew leaves Royal Lodge, he can probably sell the lease back to the Crown Estate, he still has 55 years (of the 75) remaining. There is plenty in value in that. He spent £7.5mn refurbishing the property when he took it over. I suspect he will get a tidy some for it.

 

[Alison H]

It's a "repairing lease". He's supposed to pay for maintenance costing about £400,000 per year. But he doesn't.

 

[tommy100]

I'm not sure the "disrepair" isn't being slightly blown out of proportion by the media - I mean even the DM and their well known ability to over dramatise couldn't make the pictures they took of the exterior look all that bad - and many of the pictures were of the gate houses not the main house. Those of the main house included scaffolding suggesting that repairs and painting to the exterior were happening.

Either way, its clear Andrew's days are numbered - unless he wins the lottery sometime soon.

 

[Kataryn]

I somehow think king Charles, ever since knowing he has cancer, thinks about his wife in case he dies. Maybe he wants to set her up like the late queen Mom: Clarence House and the Royal Lodge for the then Queen Dowager Camilla. And I believe this looks more nicely to him that prince Andrew and Sarah living there. Andrew moving to Frogmore Cottage and / Or Wood Farm would be fitting for a non-working Royal. I mean; where do the brothers of the dukes of Westminster or others live? In something of the Royal lodge? Or take the Swedish Royals: Victoria lives in the Haga Palace, Carl Philipp in just a (nice!) villa. They are the second (Male) sons of the monarch and that doesn't give them any more comforts that they can afford to have. I read in an orbituary lately that the dead's mother was a "Hennessy and that gave her always a wing in the Grand House or a smaller house in the grounds of the estate" to live (Orbituary of Sir George Bell in the Times) and if that's how it is in the circle of rich nobility, why should it be any different in the monarchy. IMHO, of course.

 

[Queen Claude]

George V "gifted" the Royal Lodge to George VI when he was the Duke of York and not expected to ascend the throne. I get that sensibilities have changed and maybe to some it is not a good look that royals live in vast properties that are part of the crown estate. But at the same time these deals were made when sensibilities were different and IMO I am fine with allowing the deals that were made stand and then make different choices for future dispositions.

Charles very well could be eyeing the Royal Lodge for Camilla but that makes no sense to me. If the Royal Lodge is too much house and property for Andrew and Sarah, as some have asserted, then it is certainly too much house for Camilla. In the case of Andrew and Sarah, they have lived there for years, raised their children there, and while their daughters have left the nest, it seems like they still spend time their with their spouses and children. Don't get me wrong, if circumstances necessitate that Andrew and Sarah leave the Royal Lodge and his daughters and their families experience grief and disappointment, that is a champagne problem, but the Yorks are the royals with the closest ties to the property.

If Camilla outlives Charles, she would probably still remain in Clarence House and Birkhall will probably be at her disposal, and perhaps even something on the Sandringham estate. She has her own home Ray Mill. To my knowledge Charles and Camilla have no strong affinity to Windsor, I can see Windsor being attractive because of its proximity to London, so having a property where someone can escape London but still be convenient to London is appealing. If that is desired for Camilla, then an apartment in the castle should suffice or Frogmore Cottage. Also the aforementioned change in sensibilities would apply to Camilla too, and if I am correct in my speculation about what properties widowed Camilla may have at her disposal, she may not be that far off from what QEQM had at her disposal, and QEQM was known having a high standard of living that was more akin to the 19th / early 20th century Edwardian era, rather than the more pared back late 20th century.

 

[hereditarytitles]

George V "gifted" the Royal Lodge to George VI when he was the Duke of York and not expected to ascend the throne. I get that sensibilities have changed and maybe to some it is not a good look that royals live in vast properties that are part of the crown estate. But at the same time these deals were made when sensibilities were different and IMO I am fine with allowing the deals that were made stand and then make different choices for future dispositions.

Charles very well could be eyeing the Royal Lodge for Camilla but that makes no sense to me. If the Royal Lodge is too much house and property for Andrew and Sarah, as some have asserted, then it is certainly too much house for Camilla. In the case of Andrew and Sarah, they have lived there for years, raised their children there, and while their daughters have left the nest, it seems like they still spend time their with their spouses and children. Don't get me wrong, if circumstances necessitate that Andrew and Sarah leave the Royal Lodge and his daughters and their families experience grief and disappointment, that is a champagne problem, but the Yorks are the royals with the closest ties to the property.

If Camilla outlives Charles, she would probably still remain in Clarence House and Birkhall will probably be at her disposal, and perhaps even something on the Sandringham estate. She has her own home Ray Mill. To my knowledge Charles and Camilla have no strong affinity to Windsor, I can see Windsor being attractive because of its proximity to London, so having a property where someone can escape London but still be convenient to London is appealing. If that is desired for Camilla, then an apartment in the castle should suffice or Frogmore Cottage. Also the aforementioned change in sensibilities would apply to Camilla too, and if I am correct in my speculation about what properties widowed Camilla may have at her disposal, she may not be that far off from what QEQM had at her disposal, and QEQM was known having a high standard of living that was more akin to the 19th / early 20th century Edwardian era, rather than the more pared back late 20th century.

I completely agree to you comment. From all I have heard and seen of Camilla, her being a very down to earth and sensible woman, I would think she would retire to Ray Mill House which I have often read about has been her favourite retreat for decades, maybe keep a place in Clarence House or Scotland, but for everyday living, and let's not forget she is 77 years old, she might prefer Ray Mill.
As you have stated that standard of living of the last centuries for the BRF isn't the same anymore, and Charles is conscious of that. In a modern monarchy you still have a lot of perks and wealth but you have to be more careful about showing it off, when the rest of the country (formerly "the peasants") is facing manyfold problems with poverty, housing, health care , migration and more.

 

[muriel]

I am not sure Royal Lodge is what a widowed Queen Camilla might be looking for. I think she will quietly retreat to a private life, showing up for a few state events like the Trooping and Remembrance Sunday, but little else.

My sense is that she would primarily divide her time between Ray Mill and Birkhall. If she feels she needs a London base, she may keep Clarence House, though I have my doubts.

The issue around Royal Lodge for Andrew is twofold, IMO. Firstly, as it is outside the Windsor secure perimeter (and Frogmore Cottage is within the secure perimeter), it costs quite a lot to secure. These are costs that Charles currently bears. Secondly is the issue of optics. A somewhat disgraced former working royal knocking around in a large Crown Estate property, despite him having paid for it at an arms length price.