Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew have been told they need to vacate Royal Lodge as King Charles will stop paying for his brother’s security operation in November (
Image: Getty Images)

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew are under pressure to vacate Royal Lodge in Windsor but have refused the King’s offer to move to Frogmore Cottage – and now need to find a solution

Sarah Ferguson faces making a major decision on the London townhouse she bought two years ago as she and Prince Andrew are under pressure to move out from Royal Lodge.

The Duchess and Duke of York are reportedly being urged by King Charles to vacate the Windsor property as the monarch will stop paying the bill for his brother’s security operation – which is estimated to cost £3million per year – in November. This means that Fergie and Andrew now need to find a new place to live. However, the multi-million-pound luxury London home Sarah bought in 2022 seems to be out of the question as she reportedly has tenants in it.

Fergie’s tenants are said to be paying her £16,000 a month to live in the Belgravia home – and if Sarah and Andrew wanted to move to another home in the area, they would need to get a new place. Two-bedroom houses in the same street are now available for rent at £4,000 per week, which is £208,000 per year. The cost would be half the price of what the pair would need to pay for the upkeep of Royal Lodge, as the Grade II-listed home has 30 rooms and 90 acres of land.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also listed on Land Registry documents for the London home ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images)

A source said renting a luxury townhouse would be “a no-brainer” as the Duchess and Duke of York are under pressure to be “independent” and find a different place to live. Another option could be staying at Royal Lodge but paying for “their fully independent means” to stay there, the source added, telling the Daily Mail: “Relocating to a luxury townhouse is a move that most people could only dream of, and it would save the Yorks £200,000 per year – it’s a no-brainer.

“It’s time for the Yorks to be independent, they’ve got a long-term lease with the Crown Estate and if they can pay their fully independent means to live at Royal Lodge, they’re very welcome to, but they need the right security for a building of that size. If they can find the money that’s great, but if they can’t then a smaller property would be much less expensive.”

Fergie bought the townhouse she is now renting to long-term tenants in London in her own name, but her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also listed on Land Registry documents. It is believed the property was purchased with money Beatrice and Eugenie inherited from Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. While the home has been described as an “investment” for Sarah, it is believed ultimately Beatrice and Eugenie will be beneficiaries as she won’t be able to sell the property without their consent.

Meanwhile, the 75-year-old monarch has been urging his brother Andrew to move to Frogmore Cottage, once the home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The property, already within the secure perimeter of the Windsor estate, has seen extensive renovations. However, it appears that Andrew has turned down the offer.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond looked at the situation facing Andrew and the King. Known for her insightful royal scoops, Jennie revealed that the most prudent course of action for Andrew would be to agree to the King’s “sensible” proposition and relocate to a more affordable residence while the offer still stands.

She said: “The King knows that having a disgraced Duke idling his time away in a 30 room mansion that requires up to half a million pounds of upkeep every year and something like £2million in security costs to keep him there, looks bad. Andrew seems to spend most of his time either riding around the huge estate on horseback or reportedly sitting in front of a big screen watching live coverage of planes landing and taking off. It’s not a good look.”

She offered further advice, saying: “So the obvious answer is to persuade him to move to the vacant Frogmore Cottage which has been magnificently refurbished for £2.4million which of course Harry and Meghan finally repaid.” Jennie added: “It seems like a perfectly sensible and generous offer by the King to continue to pay the costs for his brother.

“The security would presumably be less at Frogmore because it is much closer to Windsor and within the I security cordon already in place around the castle and its environs. It’s time this grand old Duke of York marched down the hill to a property he can afford!”