PRINCE Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have agreed to leave Royal Lodge — but want TWO homes in return.
Andy, 65, demanded Harry and Meghan’s ex Windsor pad Frogmore Cottage in exit talks with Palace bosses.
Fergie, 66, is lining up nearby Adelaide Cottage after William and Kate leave next month.
A friend of the pair said: “No one is really sure how it’s going to go down at the Palace yet.”
Andy’s brother King Charles has long wanted them out of the 30-room mansion where they have not paid rent for 20 years.
And it has been hoped within the Palace that Andrew would move to Harry and Meghan’s former home Frogmore Cottage.
READ MORE ON PRINCE ANDREW
He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at Royal Lodge is up.
Friend of Andrew & Sarah
William and Kate are due to leave Adelaide Cottage next month.
Neither house would need renovations or cost taxpayers more on security as they lie within the Windsor Castle security perimeter.
Talks are said to be continuing on how much rent Andrew and Fergie would be charged.
The friend added: “Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands.
“He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at Royal Lodge is up.
“If he must go then he has asked for Frogmore Cottage.
“Incredibly Sarah has said she wants Adelaide Cottage.
“Sarah and Andy have lived together at Royal Lodge since 2008 despite being divorced and seen like they are still a married couple
“It’s incredible that they are willing to go their own separate ways.
“But it indicates that they have been under immense strain this year and need a break from one another. It’s a fresh start for both.
“Frogmore Cottage is too small for both and Adelaide Cottage is around the corner so they will see each other whenever they want.
“Both have space for their daughters Eugenie and Beatrice and their families to visit.”
Andrew, 65, was first offered Frogmore in January 2023 when Harry and Meghan were evicted but turned it down as he refused to leave Royal Lodge.
Friends have also said Fergie, 66, feels like she deserves a royal home to see out her years.
She has previously spoken about feeling short-changed by her 1996 divorce settlement when she received £600,000-£800,000 — compared to Princess Diana who is said to have netted £17million.
Any move would be a massive downsizing for the couple just days after giving up their Duke and Duchess of York titles.
Grade II-listed Royal Lodge has a 40-hectare garden — the size of around 60 football pitches — and gated entry manned by security as it is surrounded by Windsor Great Park.
The Georgian mansion is laid out over three storeys with a two-storey wing.
It features a drawing room, conservatory, seven bedrooms and 15-metre-long saloon.
Andrew took on the lease from his gran the Queen Mother and spent £7.5million on renovations when he moved in 22 years ago.
Although it is owned by the Crown Estate, it would fetch up to £30million on the open market.
Frogmore Cottage is far more modest as it is two homes that have been knocked through into one and has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a nursery.
Meghan and Harry were given the Grade II-listed home as a wedding present from the late Queen in 2018.
They then spent £2.4million of taxpayers’ money on renovations, later paying it back.
Work carried out included underfloor heating, a copper bath, a garden BBQ and vegan paint.
But they moved out in 2020 and three years later were evicted by the King.
This summer the Palace said there were “no immediate plans” for anyone else to move in.
It is within Home Park in the shadow of Windsor Castle and unlikely to appear on the open market. But experts say it would cost around £30,000 a month to rent and valued at £5million.
Fergie has her eyes on Adelaide Cottage which will be vacant within weeks after William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis move into nearby Forest Lodge.
Adelaide Cottage is described as a “modest” family home with four bedrooms and just five minutes from Frogmore Cottage.
Adelaide Cottage was modernised in 2015 and did not require any work when Kate and Wills moved in three years ago.
The master bedroom is said to retain golden dolphins and ceiling rope decorations recycled from a 19th century royal yacht.
The main room boasts a Greco-Egyptian fireplace.
Descriptions of the home in 1831 said it was “chastely elegant” and “its locale affords a delightful shade at all hours of the day”.
Last century it served as the grace-and-favour home of Group Captain Peter Townsend, who had an affair with the late Queen’s sister Princess Margaret.
Again, as Adelaide Cottage is in Home Park in the Castle grounds, it is unlikely to be for sale at any stage. It would be valued at £6million on the open market.
Question marks now remain over the future of Royal Lodge if Andy and Fergie hand back the keys.
Engulfed in scandal
Claims that Charles wants it for Queen Camilla have been denied by Palace sources.
But insiders believe the Crown Estate will look for a new tenant to pay for much-needed renovations and competitive rent.
Humiliated Andrew has been offered a palace by Abu Dhabi’s super-rich ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
But it is understood the prince does not want to leave the UK as he wants to be close to his daughters and grandchildren.
Andrew still has a Royal Lodge lease with the Crown Estate until 2078 but is struggling to afford the upkeep despite not paying rent for over two decades.
Earlier this month he agreed to give up his Duke of York title after The Sun on Sunday published emails which revealed he had lied about cutting off contact with the convicted paedophile Epstein, who died in jail in 2019.
Andrew was engulfed in further scandal after sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre published damning accusations in her bombshell memoir from beyond the grave.
The Sun on Sunday yesterday revealed Andrew has “promised” his brother the King he would not “do a Harry” and pen a tell-all memoir.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment.
VIRGINIA SLUR QUIZ
By Ed Southgate
AN ex-royal protection officer has been quizzed by police after it was revealed Prince Andrew asked him to dig up dirt on his sex accuser Virginia Giuffre.
The former Met bodyguard was visited by two detectives on Tuesday morning.
They quizzed the dad of one, in his mid-60s, at his £1million home for 45 minutes.
He was an officer with an exemplary record and was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II.
The bodyguard was also reportedly part of a team who guarded Andrew in 2010, when he met Jeffrey Epstein’s personal banker Jes Staley at a Mayfair club.
