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Prince Andrew's royal life and reputation has been left in bits with the prince relinquishing his titles and honours earlier this month. However, the messy aftermath surrounding the disgraced prince's Jeffrey Epstein scandal is still rumbling on for the palace. As pressure builds for the former Duke of York to finally pack his bags and vacate the Royal Lodge, an insider has seemingly revealed what Kate Middleton thinks about the situation. The 65-year-old recently announced he would be standing down from the late slither of his royal status just days before Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir was published. In it, she claimed that Andrew sexually assaulted her three times when she was a teenager which he has vehemently denied. However, the prince's well known friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein has significantly tarnished the public perception of King Charles' younger brother. So much so that he is now facing intense pressure to leave his Royal Lodge home, where has lived with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson since 2003, the Mirror reports. The monarch has also reportedly been pushing this move for quite some time but with an "iron-clad" lease in place with the Crown Estate for the 30-room property, the only way Andrew will leave is voluntarily. It's been alleged that Andrew and Fergie are only agreeing to leave the Windsor mansion if they are granted two replacement homes in return. However, if they refuse to move, the former couple will be set to gain two new neighbours in just a matter of days. Prince William and Kate Middleton are moving into their "forever home" of Forest Lodge with their three kids, George, Charlotte and Louis, as soon as possible, but are reportedly not to be keen to have Andrew as one of their closest neighbours. The Prince of Wales is said to have been a driving force over the last few years when it comes to encouraging the monarchy to take a firm stance over his disgraced uncle. Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here . One of the other properties said to be an option for Andrew and Fergie's proposed move is Adelaide Cottage, which is where the Wales' family currently live. The other abode in consideration is the former UK home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Sussexes' were swiftly evicted from Frogmore Cottage following the publication of the duke tell-all memoir in 2023. A new report from the Mail on Sunday has claimed that Kate is eager to have the Andrew issue resolved before the family move into Forest Lodge, and that one particular aspect of the ongoing furore makes her "shudder". The source said: "Catherine shudders at the thought of living so close to Royal Lodge while Prince Andrew is still in it. William wants him gone before they start to move in next week. "It's not about what Andrew doesn't want to do anymore. It's about what he's going to be told to do." Kate and William reportedly initially had their eye on Royal Lodge for themselves when considering Windsor as their long-term home. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages The Princess of Wales almost had an awkward run in with Andrew just weeks ago when she took her three children to visit the set of the new Harry Potter TV series while it was being filmed in Windsor Great Park. The former Duke of York also took his grandchildren to the set, narrowly missing Kate and the Wales children. One source said: "It was all a bit strange that he [Andrew] turned up, but it was lovely to see the children having a great time. They were busy looking at the Hogwarts Express and it genuinely seemed like a magical time for them."
