King Charles apparently decided to cut off Prince Andrew’s privately-funded security this month, and Charles basically announced that to the British media (via the courtiers) as a way to deflect from Charles being a terrible father. He was like: no, I’m also a terrible brother, pay attention to that too. The reaction from Prince Andrew’s side has been especially funny, because it’s always been clear that Andrew knows where the bodies are buried and he’s constantly threatening Charles to get his way. Soon after Andrew’s security was cut off, one of Andrew’s “friends” told the Daily Beast that Charles is childish and jealous of Andrew, and that Andrew still isn’t planning to move out of Royal Lodge, since that is the latest “thing.” Now Andrew’s “friends” are saying: no, really, Andrew will not move out and he’s simply going to outlive Charles. Ice cold.

Prince Andrew will defy his brother King Charles’ insistence that he moves out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room historic Windsor mansion he has called home for the past 20 years, a friend of the prince has told the Daily Beast. The friend told The Daily Beast: “Andrew can sit tight and run out the clock.”

Asked if they were suggesting that Andrew thought Charles might die before he could evict Andrew, the friend said Andrew simply intended to stay in the property, which he is legally entitled to do, having a lease on it that will not expire for over 50 years and can be bequeathed to his children, until his brother accepted he had the legal right to stay there.

They added: “Andrew wants his brother to live long and prosper. He is intensely loyal to the monarchy. But it’s not exactly a state secret that Andrew is more than a decade younger than his brother, and that Charles has cancer. Quite why Charles wants this distraction at this moment in his reign is a great mystery to Andrew’s friends. It looks childish and vindictive as I don’t think anyone except Charles would give a damn where Andrew lives if they stopped briefing the newspapers about it.”

It was recently reported that Charles has told Andrew’s 10-strong security team, which he pays for privately, that their contract will not be renewed this fall. He believes this will put pressure on Andrew to move. A friend of King Charles, who is 12 years older than Andrew, said the monarch remains “utterly determined” that Andrew will be obliged to vacate Royal Lodge.

The friend of King Charles scoffed at Andrew’s defiance and said, “It’s been compared to a siege and that is accurate in one respect because Charles will starve Andrew out. Security is just a first step. He will cut all financial support if he has to. It’s Andrew’s choice how this goes. Charles is the king, and if he wants Andrew gone, Andrew will be gone in the end.”

The fresh insight into Charles’ renewed efforts to kick his brother out of Royal Lodge, a 10-bedroom home in Windsor Great Park that was once the home of the famously extravagant Queen Mother, came days after Sarah Ferguson suggested she and Andrew would not be vacating the property. Sarah told an interviewer for HOLA TV not to believe media reports that they were moving to Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Cottage. “Don’t always believe what you read,” she said, when asked if it was accurate that they were moving, adding: “I take every day as it comes.”

A former courtier told The Daily Beast: “The whole thing is a mess and arguing about it publicly is not helping the king. Ultimately, Andrew will have to be given something to surrender the lease.”

[From The Daily Beast]

That last part is what shocks me too – if it’s so important to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge, surely Charles could move some money around and buy Andrew out of his lease. Various royal sources have said the same for the past year – it’s not that Andrew refuses to leave Royal Lodge, it’s that he refuses to vacate with nothing in exchange. Which makes me believe that this is all about Charles using Andrew as a convenient target to deflect from larger royal issues. It also seems like the Windsor brand IS punishment, targeted harassment and childish beefs. The stuff about Andrew outliving Charles is… particularly nasty work. Then again, Prince William’s mindset is basically the same, actively rooting for the king to keel over.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.