Royal Lodge, Windsor

[hereditarytitles]

Among the many speculations currently circulating, one is particularly alarming. I've read that people and reporters of the tabloids think Charles will regret the day he dumped Sarah. They believe she'll write a book and present her side of the story. I can easily imagine it, firstly because she enjoys writing books, and secondly because she constantly needs a lot of money. Such a book would likely sell well.

I wonder if the king can put a stop to that?

 

[hereditarytitles]

Ha ha, good work if she can get it. However, speaking for myself I think I have seen quite enough of Fergie’s feet (and the rest of her) to last a lifetime.
What is with the foot fetish with the couple? I remember reading years ago about another Epstein victim’s story of Andrew sucking her toes for what seemed to her to be hours…

Me too.
The "sucking toes" story is from V. Giuffre's book. It was in some of the published excerpts of her book.

 

[tommy100]

I suspect there are ways to limits Sarah’s actions. At the end of the day she has her daughters to think about as well.
I suspect she’ll end up in Switzerland again, for a while at least. She has always been more “flighty” than settled in the UK.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I am also thinking about where Sarah will go…. It’s interesting that they’ve lived together all these years (which was weird, I thought, but convenient for their girls), she has stood by him through thick and thin, and now they will be living apart. I wonder which one of them (or both, neither?) made this decision. Or did Charles say he won’t support the two of them?

Many outlets reported being told by Palace sources that Sarah Ferguson would have been allowed to continue living with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Here is the Times version:

"A Palace source said on Thursday that Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, would be allowed to continue to live with him at a property in Sandringham but added that it was thought she was unlikely to do so."

Locals say ‘horrible man’ Andrew not welcome in Sandringham

Meanwhile, Andrew’s Royal Lodge lease surrender is being reviewed and his £550,000 refund could be reduced for failing to keep the property in good repair

www.thetimes.com

 

[tommy100]

Yes the fact is Sarah could still live with Andrew if thats what they want. Its just the King not making specific allowance for her and her housing (as tbf has never been done since the divorce- she has lived with Andrew or on her own).

 

[Toledo]

Among the many speculations currently circulating, one is particularly alarming. I've read that people and reporters of the tabloids think Charles will regret the day he dumped Sarah. They believe she'll write a book and present her side of the story. I can easily imagine it, firstly because she enjoys writing books, and secondly because she constantly needs a lot of money. Such a book would likely sell well.

I wonder if the king can put a stop to that?

She knows better not to ruin now her senior years for the sake of a quick cash in story. The king has been extremely patient, and generous, with them if you compare this situation with another royal parallel of the king of Thailand and how he exiled his ex wife and his own children. Andrew needs to count his blessings his brother the king has the patient of a saint with him.

 

[royal-blue]

Is it any wonder she is called a hanger on? You wouldn't see Mark Phillips or Anthony Snowdon (ex spouses of a monsrch's sibling) behaving the way she does.

 

[Lord-of-the-Manor]

I get the idea of keeping your enemies close but your family closer. If Sarah or even Andrew go off and write a book, it's just more proof the family was correct to take away their titles to begin with. Rather than be fearful of what Sarah might say, it would be evidence the family did the right thing.

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

Colour me suspicious but whenever I see a very specific tidbit of info (before Bonfire Night) I wonder if this is Prince William putting out a little trail of misinformation to test the discretion of someone in his circle.

William, like the rest of his family, and his people brief the press all the time. I'm at a loss as to why people want to pretend he doesn't and constantly find alternate excuses

 

[ladyjolene]

Is it any wonder she is called a hanger on? You wouldn't see Mark Phillips or Anthony Snowdon (ex spouses of a monsrch's sibling) behaving the way she does.

And Autumn Phillips doesn't go around mouthing off about the RF. I truly think Fergs and Andy got married (and pretty much stayed together after divorce) because no one else on earth would put up with either of them.

 

[sndral]

Among the many speculations currently circulating, one is particularly alarming. I've read that people and reporters of the tabloids think Charles will regret the day he dumped Sarah. They believe she'll write a book and present her side of the story. I can easily imagine it, firstly because she enjoys writing books, and secondly because she constantly needs a lot of money. Such a book would likely sell well.

I wonder if the king can put a stop to that?

Sarah has already written two autobiographies, I expect her to write a third.
I predict the plot will be…Sarah’s problems were caused by XYZ, even though she’s a victim of XYZ y’all, she’s contrite & she’s gone on a journey/quest to figure out her problems & emerged stronger & better, so be sure to buy this book & whatever other stuff she’s selling & $X% will be donated to charity, & oh, by the way, she adores her daughters & the King & Queen & the P&PoW & is still close to them, after all she & the POW’s mothers were besties - aren’t the corgies cute. The end.

 

[Bubbly]

William, like the rest of his family, and his people brief the press all the time. I'm at a loss as to why people want to pretend he doesn't and constantly find alternate excuses

And that would be okay. I don't think that unofficial press briefings are uncommon.

But I still have the impression that William is relatively close-lipped. I don't remember ever reading contrary claims about him.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

[...] On October 29, the Public Accounts Committee sent a letter to the Crown Estate’s chief executive and to the Treasury’s permanent secretary. Read the full letter here:

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49999/documents/269233/default/

[...] Many of the questions listed in the PAC’s letter were already answered by the 2005 National Audit Office report, which the letter references.

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20170207052351/https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2005/04/royal_property_leases.pdf

The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons has now published the 11-page reply they received from Dan Labbad, Chief Executive of the Crown Estate.

The letter focuses on Royal Lodge, but also includes general information about the Crown Estate and other royal properties leased from the Crown Estate.

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50543/documents/275710/default/

The PAC also published the full text of the 2003 lease agreement for Royal Lodge between the Crown Estate and the Duke of York:

https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50544/documents/275711/default/

 

[Lori138]

Thanks for sharing these documents @Tatiana Maria, very interesting reading.

 

[GondorHasNoPants]

The Daily Mail is now reporting that Andrew is no longer going to be paid any compensation for relinquishing his lease early, due to the Lodge being in poor condition.

An internal inspection of Royal Lodge on November 12 revealed 'dilapidations and repairs required' were such that 'in all likelihood Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease'.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

The Daily Mail is now reporting that Andrew is no longer going to be paid any compensation for relinquishing his lease early, due to the Lodge being in poor condition.

An internal inspection of Royal Lodge on November 12 revealed 'dilapidations and repairs required' were such that 'in all likelihood Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease'.

Well, the Crown Estate's letter stated that the "dilapidations and repairs" were "not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration", so I am not sure why the Mail decided to pass its own judgment that Royal Lodge is in poor condition.

See items 26-29 of the Crown Estate's letter, especially item 27.

"B4. Termination of lease

26. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served a “Tenant’s Notice offering to Surrender the Lease” on The Crown Estate on 30 October 2025 (“Tenant’s Notice”), giving the minimum 12 months’ notice as per the terms of the lease. During this time, the Lease provides that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues to be responsible for the ongoing costs of maintenance and repair of the property. Once the property has been handed back to The Crown Estate, it will assume this responsibility.

27. The Crown Estate met with representatives of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on 12 November 2025 to begin to discuss the process for the formal surrender of Royal Lodge. This meeting included a preliminary internal inspection of the property. Our initial assessment is that while the extent of end of tenancy dilapidations and repairs required are not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration, they will mean in all likelihood that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease as per clause 3.21.12 of the lease once dilapidations are taken into account.

28. In responding to the Public Accounts Committee’s question regarding any potential compensation arising from the early surrender of the lease, we have based our assessment on the Tenant’s Notice. Whilst we do not believe any compensation will necessarily be due, for transparency, the calculation as set out in the Lease is outlined below:

a. Any annual reduction in compensation for early surrender would not follow a straight-line basis. Instead, the reduction would be higher for years 1 to 15 of the lease (£340,214.76 per year) and lower for years 16 to 25 (£185,865.35 per year), with amounts calculated pro rata for any part of a year.

b. Applying this methodology to the hypothetical situation where the tenancy ends on 30 October 2026 and no end-of-tenancy repairs or dilapidations are required, the resulting hypothetical figure would be £488,342.21.

29. Before this position can be fully validated however, a full and thorough assessment must be undertaken post-occupation by an expert in dilapidations. The Crown Estate will appoint independent expert building surveyors to carry out those detailed inspections of Royal Lodge, the cottages and other buildings in its grounds, once the property has been vacated.

This is to ensure the property is returned to The Crown Estate in accordance with the requirements of the Lease."​

Thanks for sharing these documents @Tatiana Maria, very interesting reading.

You're welcome and agreed! I appreciate the Crown Estate and the Public Accounts Committee releasing this information in an accessible manner.

 

[GondorHasNoPants]

@Tatiana Maria thank you, I should have checked the link you provided before posting - you had already addressed the issue thoroughly, as you so often excellently do

 

[Tatiana Maria]

@Tatiana Maria thank you, I should have checked the link you provided before posting - you had already addressed the issue thoroughly, as you so often excellently do

No worries! I hope my criticism of the Mail's reporting in this case (apart from its dubious accusation, the Mail article did not link to the Crown Estate's letter, so its readers would lack that context) did not come across as reflecting on your post.

Although in my experience the original source is typically most useful for finding information, if one wishes to understand public perceptions, it is necessary to look at what is being said in the news media and in comment sections, on social media, etc. (whether it is true or not), so thank you for the update on how the letter is being reported on in the mainstream press.

 

[Sun Lion]

A pleasant walk around the garden of Royal Lodge with a ninety year old Queen Mother.

A couple of nice glimpses within the little Welsh children’s cottage.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

is the Queen and Princess Margaret's little welsh cottage in the grounds of Royal lodge? I recall an interview with Beatrice I think saying she had overseen the refurbishment of it and that her generation and the next (current) generation of royal children played in it.

If they rented out the Lodge to say a business person or non royal as seems likely - would the welsh cottage be moved to somewhere on the estate that is private for the royal children to avail of it

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Another article about the Welsh playhouse whose future is unclear:

Royal Lodge to keep Queen’s playhouse Y Bwthyn Bach after Andrew eviction?

Y Bwthyn Bach is a beloved Wendy house gifted by the people of Wales to Princess Elizabeth in 1932.

www.bbc.co.uk

One curious detail of the lease agreement (page 15):

“3.21.4. An ‘Acceptable Assignee’ means any of the following:

3.21.4.1. the widow of HRH The Duke of York;

3.21.4.2. Princess Beatrice; or

3.21.4.3. Princess Eugenie; or

3.21.4.4. the Trustees of a trust which has no beneficiaries other than Princess Beatrice or Princess Eugenie or either of them”​

Why is it that if the Duke of York remarried, the Crown Estate would allow him to assign the lease to his widow, but wouldn’t allow him to assign the lease to any children he might have with her, even though he would be allowed to assign the lease to his daughters from his first marriage?

 

[Diarist]

Just to answer a couple of questions raised above, when I last attended the chapel [properly known as the Royal Chapel of All Saints - services are held there as it is the equivalent to the 'parish church' [it is actually a Royal Peculiar] for those who live and work or have some relevant connection with Windsor and the park] for the benefit of members I did notice that the outside of Royal Lodge looked very run down.

Having read Lady Glenconner's book, I remember that she said that Royal Lodge was not in the best condition when it was the home of the late Queen Mother - Lady G speculated that this was possibly because the Queen Mother was reluctant to update or modernise what had been the matrimonial home of the Yorks pre-accession. This implies to me that AM-W had quite a renovation task on his hands.

Interestingly, although it is often described as 'being in the grounds of Royal Lodge' the chapel is in fact separated by a wall. The roof and top portions of Y Bwthyn Bach ['The Welsh Cottage'] are both clearly visible over this. There are also notices forbidding any photography of Royal Lodge. This has always been the case - not just to prevent pictures of AM-W and Sarah Ferguson moving out.

The other thing that now strikes me was how absurd it was [presumably a decision of HLM] to allocate Royal Lodge to AM-W. Forget the Epstein scandal for a moment. The property IMVHO was far too large and grand for a second son who was only going to slip further down the order of succession. Royal Lodge should have been designated as the 'official Windsor residence' for the heir to the throne. I really think that it would have been ideal for William and Kate, and George, Charlotte and Louis would have adored playing in the cottage.

Personal note: I always get lost when driving to the Chapel through all the trees. Most of Windsor Great Park has good signage but for Security reasons [presumably] the way to Royal Lodge is not signposted and I aways forget at 'which tree' I have to turn left. [It's a very wooded area.] Fine if my husband is driving, there is no problem as he is an excellent navigator with a keen sense of direction but if I am going by myself, forget it! I usually end up having to be 'rescued' by one of the ranger staff - who fortunately always appear at the precise moment when I really need help! A serious point - this clearly indicates to me that when I drive through the electronic swing gates, at the entrance to the more restricted (but still publicly accessible) part of the park, I am obviously being very closely monitored!

Coffee is always served in the nearby small building after services - this equates to the small church hall found close to 'normal' Anglican churches. I am always in need of a restorative cup of tea at that point!

During my Christmas 'reading binge' I have seen suggestions that Y Bwthyn Bach should now be returned to Wales. I think that would be a pity, because after all it was a gift!

 

[Durham]

Thank you for that, very interesting!

 

[An Ard Ri]

I didn't realise that Royal Lodge in Windsor Park went back to 1662 when the first residence was erected there!
The History of Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew’s Former Home

I doubt it will be used for a very long time after AMW!

 

[tommy100]

Indeed, Royal Loge always seemed too big for Andrew, but then it is said to be no bigger, indeed possibly smaller, than Edward's Bagshot Park.
I have a lot of respect and affection for the late Queen but I think the only sensible decision she made in the housing of her children was buying Gatcombe for Anne. IMO this was the model she should have followed with her other younger children.
It would be nice to think that in twenty years or so George might live in RL-close to his parents at Forest Lodge.