The British royal family has found itself at the center of renewed controversy and dramatic change, as Prince William and Kate Middleton settle into their new home on the Windsor estate—just as Prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor faces eviction from his own long-held royal residence. The developments, which unfolded in the days leading up to Bonfire Night 2025, have brought longstanding family tensions and scandalous associations back into the spotlight, while also signaling a significant reshuffling of royal living arrangements and titles.
Prince William and Princess Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, moved into Forest Lodge, an eight-room Georgian mansion nestled within Windsor Great Park, before their self-imposed deadline of November 5, 2025. According to The Telegraph and Daily Mail, the couple had originally planned to relocate by Christmas, but construction wrapped up ahead of schedule. Forest Lodge, boasting six bathrooms, a tennis court, a large pond, and a sunken fence for privacy, represents a considerable upgrade from their previous four-room residence at Adelaide Cottage. Royal expert Rebecca English told Daily Mail that William and Kate intend for Forest Lodge to be their “forever home,” even after William eventually ascends the throne.
The reasons for this move, however, run deeper than the appeal of extra space and amenities. Jennie Bond, a royal commentator, told Mirror that Kate’s recent battle with cancer and the emotional toll of family rifts had left the family craving a fresh start. “After the past couple of years, with all the emotional stress of illness and family rifts, this new start is exactly what they need. They say moving home can be one of the most stressful things in life, but for William, Catherine and their children, I think it will be a welcome breath of fresh air,” Bond noted.
Unlike many royal arrangements of the past, William and Kate are funding the refurbishments to Forest Lodge privately and will pay market rent to the Crown Estate, as reported by Mirror. This stands in stark contrast to the arrangement enjoyed by Prince Andrew, who since 2003 had occupied Royal Lodge under a “peppercorn lease” that required him to pay only a nominal rent—reportedly “one peppercorn, if demanded” per year—after an initial £1 million payment for a 75-year lease. The Times and Us Weekly noted that Andrew’s effective rent-free existence in the 30-room mansion had become a source of public and royal frustration, particularly as his name continued to be linked with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It was against this backdrop that King Charles III announced on Thursday, October 30, 2025, that Andrew would be stripped of his style, titles, and honors—including Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, and “His Royal Highness”—amid a renewed focus on his ties to Epstein. These sanctions were not limited to titles; Andrew was also served formal notice to surrender his lease on Royal Lodge and move out. According to Us Weekly, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson stated, “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Andrew’s residency at Royal Lodge had become a “lingering problem for the royal family,” as Us Weekly described, not just because of his controversial lease but also due to the years of scandal surrounding his friendship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. (Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking charges in June 2022 and sentenced to 240 months in federal prison. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in custody on federal sex trafficking charges.) Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and, in 2022, reached a financial settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault when she was 17. Andrew said in a statement, “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.”
William’s support for his father’s decision to strip Andrew of his titles and evict him from Royal Lodge has been unwavering. According to Andrew Lownie’s biography, “The Rise and Fall of the Yorks,” William “fully supported” Charles’s actions, believing that Andrew—and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson—had “done much to undermine the good work of other members of the Royal Family.” The book, as cited by Daily Mail, reveals that William’s animosity toward Andrew reportedly stems from a “rude” comment Andrew made about Kate Middleton, though the exact nature of the remark remains undisclosed. Lownie’s account also claims, “He [William] also loathes Sarah [Ferguson], Andrew’s ex-wife, and can’t wait for the day when his father throws them both out.”
Tensions reportedly boiled over in September 2025 at the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, when William was said to be “furious” at being “ambushed” by the attendance of Andrew and Ferguson. “He has been at pains to distance himself from his uncle and not be photographed with him,” Lownie wrote, reflecting William’s desire to maintain the royal family’s reputation in the face of ongoing scandals.
With Andrew’s eviction now finalized, he is set to relocate to a private property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, a move funded by King Charles. Ferguson, who has lived at Royal Lodge since 2008 despite divorcing Andrew in 1996, will need to make her own arrangements after also losing her Duchess of York title. Their daughters, Princess Beatrice (37) and Princess Eugenie (35), will retain their royal titles, as confirmed by AP and Page Six.
For William and Kate, the move to Forest Lodge is not just a change of address but a symbolic fresh start after years of family turmoil and public scrutiny. For Andrew, it marks the end of an era—and perhaps the closing of a chapter that the royal family is eager to leave behind.
