King Charles has infuriated his nieces, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, by stripping their father, Prince Andrew, of his remaining titles and moving to evict him from Royal Lodge starting in October 2025, thereby obliterating a multimillion-dollar legacy they were set to inherit from the property.
The princesses, who are 37 and 35 respectively, had long believed that their father’s 75-year lease agreement, secured in 2003, would ensure the 30-room property remained theirs. The lease, the cornerstone of the York family’s residential and financial stability, is now being unraveled as a part of King Charles’ overarching plan to simplify the monarchy.
In 2003, Andrew negotiated a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, worth about £30 million, or approximately $40 million. This lease could only be transferred to his widow, his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, or a trust created solely for their benefit.
King Charles began the formal process to strip Andrew of his titles on October 30, 2025, in light of ongoing public scrutiny over his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. The palace issued an official notice to surrender the lease in October 2025, and Andrew began preparing to move in January 2026. He is relocating to a temporary property outside Windsor while his permanent residence, Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate, undergoes renovations.
Elliot Castle, a property expert with We Buy Any Home, told The Mirror that the chance of inheriting Royal Lodge is now “entirely” off the table. “From a property standpoint, that closes the door entirely. Royal Lodge would revert fully to the Crown Estate, with no residual claim for Andrew or his daughters,” he said.
Andrew paid a £1 million ($1.33 million) premium to the Crown Estate for the lease and carried out refurbishments at his own cost, estimated at £7.5 million ($9.97 million) at September 2002 prices. Over the years, he reportedly invested millions more in renovations, anticipating that these sunk costs would eventually become a valuable legacy for his children.
Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has cohabited with him at Royal Lodge for the past two decades, is also relocating. The couple married in 1986 and divorced ten years later. She reverted to using her maiden name, Ferguson, in October 2025 when Andrew ceased using the Duke of York title, removing “Duchess of York” from her social media handles.
Andrew is expected to vacate Royal Lodge by Easter 2026, according to reports, though removal trucks were spotted at the property in mid-January, suggesting the move is underway. He will relocate first to a temporary property outside Windsor before moving to Marsh Farm on the privately owned Sandringham estate in Norfolk, about 100 miles north of London, with King Charles funding the move privately.
Insiders have indicated that the princesses feel they are bearing the brunt of decisions they did not make, watching a valuable asset vanish due to a scandal they played no part in. For years, the princesses saw Royal Lodge not just as a childhood home, but also as a long-term asset.
Despite their father’s disgrace, both princesses will keep their royal titles. Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their two children reside at Ivy Cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds and own a home in Portugal. Princess Beatrice, her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and their two children have made a home in the Cotswolds.
“Royal Lodge provided security, prestige, and a long lease that justified substantial personal investment,” Castle said. “The premature loss of that arrangement inevitably results in sunk costs that can’t be recovered.”
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie attended Christmas celebrations at Sandringham without their parents, who were not invited to this year’s festivities. The move indicates a broader downgrade for the York branch of the family.
While Andrew would be entitled to £488,000 ($649,000) for the early surrender of his 75-year lease, a Crown Estate report found that the property was in such a state of disrepair that he will likely not receive any compensation.
This loss signifies the end of long-standing assumptions about family stability and security that shaped their expectations for decades. They are now forging lives entirely independent of the Crown’s property portfolio, even as they privately express their anger at how their father’s downfall has impacted their futures.