How Queen Elizabeth Tried To Ensure Prince Andrew Stays In His Longtime Home

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew shared a close relationship. The monarch formed a special bond with her third child from the start, and she enjoyed his sense of humor. Towards the end of her life, Elizabeth and Andrew spent a lot of time together, enjoying each other's company amid the pandemic. After the queen made Windsor Castle her primary residence, she was only a short distance away from Andrew's home, Royal Lodge. 

Andrew began leasing the grand 30-room Royal Lodge 20 years ago, and he's determined to stay there, despite King Charles' desire to see him move into the smaller Frogmore Cottage. The Duke of York has been citing his 75-year lease as proof that he's entitled to stay in the house. However, as part of that agreement, Andrew is required to pay for routine maintenance to the historic home. Right now, this includes roof repairs, and Andrew's not budging from Royal Lodge even while this work is being done over his head.

Roof repairs are often a costly endeavor, and Andrew's likely facing a substantial bill given the size of his home. To encourage Andrew to downsize, Charles tried exerting financial pressure on his sibling. Earlier this year, he slashed a £249,000 stipend that Andrew receives from the Duchy of Lancaster. While Sarah Ferguson has pledged to financially support her ex-husband, it now appears that Andrew's renovations are being bankrolled by the late Queen Elizabeth.

Prince Andrew is utilizing his inheritance from Queen Elizabeth to subsidize his home repair costs. "He's been quite open about where the money has come from because he doesn't want people to think he's come up with it through other means," a source disclosed to OK! Magazine. 

This inheritance took time to get to the Duke of York. When Queen Elizabeth died, King Charles received his mother's entire estate, which was estimated to be between £370 and£650 million. Elizabeth wasn't looking to slight her other children by giving everything to Charles; monarchs just aren't required to pay inheritance tax. Back in 1993, Queen Elizabeth offered to pay personal income tax each year in exchange for this benefit. 

From there, it was up to Charles to distribute the individual inheritances to their prospective beneficiaries. Back in March, Andrew was reportedly concerned his brother wouldn't pass anything along to him. "What's he meant to do? Go cap in hand to his older brother to keep a roof over his head?" one of Andrew's friends lamented to the Daily Mail. "Things are going from bad to worse. It's a disaster." While Andrew does have funds for his roof, the prince has other looming home-care costs, including a £1 million painting bill for the outside of Royal Lodge. As for how much he inherited from his mother, "Details of the exact amounts and to whom will never be revealed because the papers have been sealed," the source explained to OK!, per Express.