King Charles does not want to replicate Prince Harry and Prince William’s feud with Prince Andrew, according to a royal expert.
The Duke of York voluntarily withdrew from attending the Royal Family Christmas celebrations at Sandringham following his links to an alleged Chinese ‘spy’.
The disgraced Duke instead opted to spend the occasion with his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, at their residency, Royal Lodge, which has been the centre of a long-standing dispute between Charles and his younger brother.
King Charles suggested that the Duke and Duchess of York downsize to Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan’s previous UK residency.
King Charles does not want to replicate Prince Harry and Prince William’s feud with Prince Andrew, according to a royal expert
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In an effort to evict Prince Andrew, his older brother axed the duke’s £1million annual allowance, which he has relied on since stepping back as a working royal in 2019.
Andrew has since secured legitimate funding and remains in Royal Lodge.
A former BBC royal correspondent has suggested that the King does not want to completely isolate his brother following their feud.
Bond said: “Nothing is going to change the fact that Andrew is Charles’s brother.
King Charles and Prince Harry Royal Lodge a long-standing dispute over Royal Lodge
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She continued: “So I think this is a year when the King will try to keep the situation with Andrew calm and under control.
“A lot depends on what, if any, further stories or allegations are made against the Duke in the coming months. That will dictate whether Charles will ever invite him to be part of private family gatherings or not.
“At the moment I don’t think the King wants to exacerbate the situation by taking punitive action.”
The King and Andrew are not the only royal brothers who have been engaged in a feud, with Prince Harry and Prince William not thought to be on speaking terms.
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Prince Harry and Prince William have had a strained relationship since Harry moved to California
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Their relationship became fractured after Harry and Meghan announced they would step back as working royals in January 2020.
Following their departure from the UK, the couple released several damming claims against the Royal Family, including in an infamous 2019 Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry’s controversial memoir, Spare, released in 2023.
Bond told the Mirror: “The family already has two totally estranged brothers, it doesn’t need any more.
She added that with Andrew said to be “very sad”, his big brother worries that: “Kicking a man when he’s down can take a dangerous toll on mental health.”