Prince Andrew has long caused problems for the royal family, and now that details about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein have resurfaced, things have gotten even more complicated. After a recent “discussion with the King,” Andrew announced that he has officially given up his “Duke of York” title. However, he still lives in his 30-room mansion, the Royal Lodge, where he doesn’t pay rent. The residence is also uncomfortably close to Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Kate is reportedly not looking forward to having Prince Andrew as a neighbor.
Andrew is ‘just four miles’ away.
Kate and William’s new “forever home” has at least one undesirable feature — it is within close proximity of the Royal Lodge, where Andrew is expected to live until 2078, according to Us Weekly. Though William and Kate haven’t spoken up about the Prince Andrew issue, they’re reportedly hoping he will leave since he’s given up his royal titles.
Understandably, for some time now, Kate has had other things to worry about and hasn’t really concerned herself with Prince Andrew. Although she’s been kind of hands-off, royal expert Phil Dampier explained to The Sun, it seems like she’s not too eager to live near Andrew (can you blame her?). “Obviously, she’s had more important things to worry about with her own health battles and looking after her children,” Dampier said. “That’s been her main priority.” Apparently, she’s trusting William to figure things out.
But she’s reportedly worried about running into him.
Andrew’s scandals have garnered a lot of negative attention, and it sounds like Kate and William would rather not deal with “ongoing scandals coming from other members of the family, including Andrew.”
It might be harder to avoid the drama when living in close proximity to Andrew though. “I think the public is just seeing day in, day out stories about Andrew holed up in his Windsor home, and William and Kate are living in Windsor,” Dampier said. “The kids are going to be going to school, it’s just by association, there is a possibility that they would bump into them at various times.”
According to Dampier, William and Kate are “trying to get things sorted out” before it becomes a huge issue for them.
Currently, protesters are gathering outside Andrew’s home.
It’s not all that surprising that Kate and William are not interested in having a neighbor who regularly attract protesters. Dampier told The Sun that William probably doesn’t want “to be living within a couple of miles of someone who’s constantly getting… I mean, today, I think there are demonstrators down there.”
Describing the situation as “a bit of a circus,” Dampier added that there are protesters with megaphones who are saying Andrew should leave his home. And although Kate and William haven’t been so vocal about it, they seem to agree.
