King Charles Keeps One Royal Away from Spotlight Amid Family Drama—And It's Not Whom You'd Expect
As King Charles III feuds with brother Prince Andrew over the Royal Lodge, it seems like the monarch has decided to sideline Sarah Ferguson from royal duties for the time being, given her close ties with her ex-husband, the Duke of York. Despite attending the royals' Christmas walk at Sandringham, a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece, and attendance at the Easter service, Ferguson's appearances have become less and less frequent. A royal biographer suggested that due to the ongoing efforts at evicting Andrew and the loss of the disgraced royal's security team, Charles may be intentionally keeping Ferguson out of the spotlight, as per OK! Magazine UK.
Ferguson is currently in New York City with her daughter, Princess Beatrice. Besides, despite their divorce in 1996, Andrew and Ferguson, who share two daughters (Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie), have been on amicable terms, which reportedly hasn't sat well with Charles. Notably, Ferguson wasn't asked to help as both the monarch and the Princess of Wales were dealing with health issues, leaving Princess Anne and Duchess Sophie to step in.
Recently, Craig Brown, the author of A Voyage Around the Queen, told Sky News Australia that Ferguson is 'not the King's kind of person.' The writer also slammed Ferguson for supposedly leveraging Queen Elizabeth's corgis, Muick and Sandy, to 'increase her own celebrity' following the Queen's passing in 2022.
As per InStyle, in 2021, it was revealed that Andrew was struggling to cover the £400,000 annual upkeep of his £30 million property. As such, Charles has reportedly been eager to end his private funding for security at the estate and move Andrew to a more modest residence, such as the nearby Frogmore Cottage. A recent report from The Sun also claimed that Prince Andrew’s security at the Royal Lodge costs Charles nearly $4 million a year, a sum the King has been paying personally since 2022 after Andrew lost his police protection following his withdrawal from official royal duties amid sexual assault allegations.
Frustrated with the financial burden, Charles is allegedly unwilling to continue paying and is pushing Andrew to leave. Despite the pressure, Andrew, who lives at the 30-room residence with his ex-wife Ferguson is determined to stay put in the home he’s occupied since the early 2000s.
The massive property was built in the mid-17th century and became a permanent royal residence in the 1930s. The Queen Mother resided there until she died in 2002 and, thereafter, Andrew took over the lease. Sources suggest he now hopes to pass it down to his two daughters. Recently, a former BBC royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, claimed that Andrew spends his time at the sprawling estate "either riding around...on horseback or...sitting in front of a big screen watching live coverage of planes landing and taking off," according to Birmingham Live.
