PHIL DAMPIER OPINION
The Andrew formerly known as Prince is digging his heels in.
A Parliamentary probe has revealed that the Duke of York (who no longer uses that title) can legally stay in his Windsor home until next October making a mockery of King Charles’s attempts to send him into exile.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was expected to leave Royal Lodge early next year and take up residence in a cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
His ex-wife Sarah is thought be looking for separate accommodation, but now the pair will have a lot more time to plan their futures.
It makes the King look weak in my opinion and means the whole sorry saga will drag on for months, when Andrew’s demotion is supposed to have drawn a line under the affair.
It’s just a few weeks since Andrew was stripped of his Prince title and told he would have to vacate his home, as punishment for his relationship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Now he has also had his membership of the Order of the Garter cancelled, making him a mere commoner.
His coat of arms has been removed from St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where his beloved parents, the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are buried.
But all the time Andrew and Sarah are lingering like a bad smell the perception will be that they are still “getting away with it” and could try and make a comeback in the future.
One senior courtier has told me privately : “It’s essential Andrew moves out soon otherwise it will all look like a fudge, and although the King has some sympathy and compassion for his brother, he can’t show any weakness.
“His actions have to be strong and permanent, otherwise the monarchy is in danger of collapse.”
Prince William is reportedly stiffening his father’s backbone in the wings, ensuring these problems are sorted out before he comes to the throne.
But at the moment Andrew is still living day to day, riding his horse and doting on his grandchildren.
He and Sarah will probably spend a lonely Christmas holed up in Royal Lodge, while the rest of the royals go to Sandringham.
But the Andrew scandal has thrown up a much wider issue facing Charles and William as they try and make the monarchy fit for purpose in the 21st century.
They simply have too many homes!
When William becomes King he will have the run of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Sandringham, Birkhall, Clarence House, Highgrove, Forest Lodge, Anmer Hall and Kensington Palace.
That’s not a good look when many members of the public are struggling, and the Game of Homes needs to be dealt with soon.
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