Prince Andrew to challenge his brother King Charles power?

Prince Andrew, who's reportedly refusing to vacate Windsor royal lodge, could challenge his elder brother King Charles III's power to evict him from the royal residence.

The Duke of York is reportedly adamant that the newly crowned King has no power to evict him from the house which was gifted him by Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Beatrice and Eugenie's father has resided at the 30-room mansion since 2003 as part of a 75-year lease from the Crown Estate and currently shares the house with his ex-wife Sarah.

Andrew has been under increasing pressure from the 74-year-old monarch to downgrade to the smaller Frogmore Cottage, the former residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Sky News host Chris Kenny shared his thoughts on the situation, saying, the housing crisis goes all the way to Windsor.

Kenny’s comments come as Andrew has allegedly defied the King's order to leave the residence.

The 63-year-old thinks the King has no authority to evict him, a royal insider has revealed. 

The source, who maintains regular contact with Andrew, has claimed that the Duke believes he wont be kicked out of the property because the lease is in his name, not the royal family's.

"The lease is in the duke's name so no one can take that away from him," the source told The Times. 

It has never been suggested that it could be taken away from him. It's a long lease with 80 to 90 years left on it.

"This is a lease between him and the Crown Estate. That's not a matter for the king. It's a matter for the chancellor of the exchequer. The only way you could get him to move out would be through an arrangement – he would have to agree."

But the source believes King Charles is unlikely to push his brother out of the property as it would make him unpopular within the family.

"There are other members of the family who would not want to see a member kicked out," they added.

It is worth mentioning here that the Duke reportedly had his annual grant of $AUD435,000 cut drastically by April in a push from the King to have his brother downgrade his residence.

The pay cut has reportedly rendered the disgraced royal unable to pay the massive maintenance fees on the Grade II listed Royal Lodge, which has been valued on the open market as close to $53 million.

There are speculations and rumours that Andrew could turn against his elder brother by challenging his authority as Prince William and Harry's father reportedly want to kick him out of the palace.