Prince Andrew haunted by Epstein scandal amid pressure to leave Royal Lodge

Prince Andrew is under immense pressure to vacate the Royal Lodge, however, voluntarily doing so would mean he is guilty of his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

According to royal expert Hugo Vickers, the “disgraced” Duke of York is still haunted by Epstein scandal as voluntary relocation to a smaller residence would mean he is guilty.

Speaking with The Sun, Hugo said, "I think we must all accept that he is not wanted for any public duties. If you were running a charity you wouldn't be asking Prince Andrew to come and be your guest of honour.”

“So nobody wants him in a public way,” he added. "So there he is living at Royal Lodge, playing golf, seeing his children and grandchildren and riding in the park and it is expensive.”

He said that the ideal situation for Andrew would be to “volunteer to down-size and move somewhere else” but it would mean to “publicly accepting guilt.”

"What I think he feels is that if he moves out of Royal Lodge it's somehow publicly accepting guilt for which he has not been proved,” the expert said. "Nevertheless it's an expensive lifestyle."

Hugo continued: "It does indeed look as though he's just holding the fort and refusing to do the repairs, refusing to go, and probably can't afford to do them, anyway.

"I suspect the king does realise that he has to take care of his brother. But I'm wondering whether perhaps the Queen left Prince Andrew enough money to see him by.”