Prince Andrew 'refusing to throw away Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's inheritance'
As part of his 75-year lease, the Duke of York agreed to maintain Royal Lodge
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Prince Andrew is "refusing to throw away Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's inheritance", royal sources have claimed.
Friends of the Duke of York have claimed that Andrew, 64, intends to continue living at Royal Lodge and leave it to his daughters.
This comes amid reports that King Charles, 75, is attempting to force his younger brother to move into the smaller royal property, Frogmore Cottage.
One of the duke's friends said: "Andrew has no intention of moving out, and it’s extraordinary that his brother has chosen to reopen this battle via anonymous briefings to the press.
The Duke of York has lived in Royal Lodge since 2003
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"It’s like they [the Palace] have learned nothing from the whole Harry and Meghan debacle.
"Andrew does not have a huge amount in his life any more, the house is one of the few things keeping him going, and the idea that he is going to throw that away along with his children’s inheritance is just absurd."
They continued to tell The Daily Beast: "The place is perfectly well maintained and the notion that Andrew is in dire financial straits is not remotely accurate.
"He still has the support of plenty of friends and has plenty of business interests."
Andrew 'refusing to throw away Beatrice and Eugenie's inheritance', sources claim
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The pushback from Andrew's friends comes days after an extensive report in The Times alleged that the King is renewing his efforts to evict Andrew from Royal Lodge, threatening him with being cut off financially if he did not comply.
The article claimed the King would "reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide" unless Andrew moved out.
It also alleged that King Charles is supporting the duke in the "low millions" of pounds per annum.
One source told the publication: "The King’s kindness is not without limit, and there is a very good option for Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage… which also has the benefit of being within the Windsor Castle security cordon hence reducing the need for alternative round-the-clock security for Royal Lodge."
Prince Andrew stepped down as a working member of the Royal Family in 2019
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Royal commentator Gareth Russell told GB News that Sarah Ferguson "did not deny rumours of a growing rift" between Charles and Andrew during her Good Morning Britain interview last week, as the Duchess of York is a "public defender of the King".
He said: "The duchess did not criticise the King, but she certainly did not put to bed the rumours that there is a rift growing over Royal Lodge."
GB News approached Buckingham Palace and the Duke of York's representatives for comment.