{"id":106913,"date":"2025-10-30T23:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/106913\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T23:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:51:10","slug":"everything-we-know-about-prince-andrews-30-room-windsor-mansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/106913\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything We Know About Prince Andrew’s 30-Room Windsor Mansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

Prince Andrew is officially being evicted from Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor Great Park for more than two decades, per the New York Times. <\/a>The younger brother of King Charles III gave up his official Duke of York<\/a> title in mid-October, and has since been stripped of his prince title. He will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. He will soon depart the 30-room manor that he currently shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York.<\/p>\n

The pair have not paid rent on the Grade II-listed manor since moving in, per The Times,<\/a> which obtained a copy of the lease. The agreement entitles Andrew\u2019s family to live in the home until 2078 under what is referred to as a \u201cpeppercorn lease,\u201d a symbolic arrangement in which rent is only due when requested from the Crown Estate, the independent business entity that owns the Georgian estate. The fee, when demanded, consists of \u201ca peppercorn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PrincessLisa Sheridan\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Princess Anne and Prince Charles playing in the garden of the Royal Lodge in Windsor, England on April 7, 1954.<\/p>\n

Prior to moving in, however, the prince paid \u00a31 million upfront along with \u00a37.5 million for renovations. Notably, if he gives up the lease before 2028, a clause<\/a> requires the Crown Estate to pay him an annual sum of \u00a3185,865 until then. Andrew is reportedly hoping to relocate to Frogmore Cottage,<\/a> with Ferguson possibly moving to Adelaide Cottage<\/a>\u2014both nearby in Windsor Home Park. The New York Times reports that he will move to a \u201cprivate residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, we take a look back on the history of Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n

Early History\"HisPrint Collector\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Historical photo of Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n

The history of Windsor Castle stretches back nearly a thousand years,<\/a> starting from its origins as a military outpost. The property\u2019s vast grounds used to include what is known today as Windsor Great Park, an area that had long been utilized as hunting grounds<\/a>. A \u201cmodest farmhouse\u201d stood on the site<\/a> of Royal Lodge in the 1660s, but the current 30-room manor looks vastly different than it did back then.<\/p>\n

Around 1770, the Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, Thomas Sandby, <\/a>began living in the home, then called the Deputy Ranger’s House. An 18th-century watercolor<\/a> by Sandby\u2019s brother, Paul, depicts the three-story manor with a hip roof, dormers, and end chimneys. Around this time, the stately house was also referred<\/a> to simply as \u201cLower Lodge\u201d or \u201cGreat Lodge.\u201d<\/a> After Sandby died, the park\u2019s bailiff\u2014Joseph Frost\u2014took up residence.<\/p>\n

1812-1840: Royal Retreat and Rebuilding\"RoyalHarry Shepherd\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

March 27, 1948: The Royal Lodge in the Great Park, at Windsor, much as it looks today.<\/p>\n

George, Prince of Wales (who later became King George IV) was the first royal to use the lodge as a home, temporarily relocating<\/a> there in 1812. Following his death in 1830, the manor was almost completely demolished following a directive from King William IV. The house’s original conservatory was the only element that made it into the rebuilt Georgian structure. By 1840, it started being used as a \u201cgrace-and-favor\u201d<\/a> residence for select royal officials, meaning it was given rent-free at the discretion of the reigning monarch.<\/p>\n

1930s: House of York \"PrincessUniversal History Archive\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

A young Princess Elizabeth stands in front of her cottage on the grounds of Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n

Around 1932, the Duke and Duchess of York<\/a> moved into Royal Lodge with their young family, including then-Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II). They resided at the estate until Elizabeth\u2019s father was crowned king in 1936, following the abdication<\/a> of his brother, King Edward VIII.
<\/p>\n

While the family was living at Royal Lodge, the people of Wales gifted a young Elizabeth with a storybook thatched cottage on the grounds, called Y Bwthyn Bach,<\/a> Welsh for \u201cthe Little Cottage.\u201d Crafted by architect Edmund Willmott, the diminutive playhouse is intimately scaled, with five-foot ceilings across two stories. It\u2019s equipped with a working kitchen and telephone, as well as a bedroom upstairs. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret cherished the cottage<\/a>, which their children and grandchildren<\/a> also used.<\/p>\n

1952-2002: Queen Mother\u2019s Country Refuge\"RoyalLisa Sheridan\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

July 8, 1946: King George VI with the Royal Family, at the Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle.<\/p>\n

When Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952 following the death of her father, her mother used Royal Lodge as her country retreat,<\/a> visiting nearly every weekend. The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep<\/a> at the property in 2002 at age 101.<\/p>\n

2003-Present: Home to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
\"RoyalMark Cuthbert\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson currently live at Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n

After the death of his grandmother, the \u201cQueen Mum,\u201d Prince Andrew\u2014then the Duke of York\u2014reached an agreement with the Crown Estate to lease Royal Lodge after paying \u00a31 million upfront, in addition to \u00a37.5 million for refurbishments<\/a>. These upgrades included an exterior paint job that took the color from pink to its current white. Andrew moved into the three-story home, which contains seven bedrooms, in 2003.<\/p>\n

In its present state, the home is currently in need of an estimated \u00a32 million<\/a> in repairs. Andrew has already paid<\/a> roughly \u00a3200,000 to update the roof.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpeppercorn lease\u201d is in place for 75 years,<\/a> expiring in 2078, and covers family members including ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (who joined Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2008) and their two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Both princesses<\/a> had their wedding receptions at the estate.
<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read Prince Andrew is officially being evicted from Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor Great Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,7157,69934,637,146,85,46,1975,69933],"class_list":{"0":"post-106913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-content-type-default","10":"tag-contentid-044293e5-5529-4a0e-9bfc-ae7c37a3a9bc","11":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-locale-us","16":"tag-shorttitle-the-history-of-prince-andrews-current-home"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}