Princess Kate and Prince William 'blocked by Prince Andrew' as Duke has 'backing from Royal Family members'

King Charles wants the Prince and Princess of Wales to move into the 30-room royal residence.

However, Andrew signed a long-term lease on the mansion in 2003 and does not want to leave his home, which is worth an estimated £30million.

The Duke of York reportedly has another 80 or 90 years remaining on his current lease.

A close associate of Andrew told The Times that King Charles is unlikely to boot his brother out of the Royal Lodge as: "there are other members of the family who would not want to see a member kicked out."

The source continued: "The lease is in the duke’s name so no one can take that away from him.

They continued: "It has never been suggested that it could be taken away from him.

"It’s a long lease with 80 to 90 years left on it. This is a lease between him and the Crown Estate.

"That’s not a matter for the King. It’s a matter for the chancellor of the exchequer.

"The only way you could get him to move out would be through an arrangement — he would have to agree."

The King is said to want Andrew to vacate the property so that Prince William can use it.

The Prince of Wales and his family have lived at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor since 2022.

Another friend of the Duke of York said: "If Charles wants Andrew to play ball and help the family through these difficult times, aren’t there better ways of going about it?

"Why not do the decent thing, sit down and talk?

"If they need the house for William, perhaps Andrew should be told. Perhaps William should invite his uncle for tea and explain.'