Harry and Meghan have managed the impossible: they’re less popular than Prince Andrew

A house divided cannot stand. Not even the House of Windsor

Imagine what it must be like to be Prince Andrew. It’s only a matter of days since we were invited to take pity on the disgraced royal because his brother, the King, was threatening to “evict” him from York Lodge – an admittedly grand mansion house built in the Queen Anne style, but somewhat overlarge for him and Fergie, who is reportedly also in residence.

The way he, or his team, were spinning that tale was as if the DSS had sent him a stern notice stating that his benefits were to be cut under the "bedroom tax" because his council house was too big for his assessed needs; especially given that the assorted aristocrats, hangers-on and the great and good no longer wished to attend his parties.

But rather than finding the not-so-grand old Duke of York kipping on a park bench in the uniform of an admiral of the fleet after his callous “no fault” eviction, we discover that he’s going to get his very own Omaze-style house, without any need to need to buy a ticket. After all, as a scion of the House of Windsor, he’s already won the lottery of life.

As we know. Andrew is merely “downsizing” – albeit involuntarily – and taking over the newly renovated Frogmore “cottage” (which is not a cottage, by the way) from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who are vacating the joint.

They certainly rarely use it. But, like Prince Andrew’s ski lodge out in the Alps, and that house Charles used to keep, eccentrically, in Transylvania, for those sort of folk the important thing is that it is there if they “need” it (and that's on a very generous interpretation of the word “need”).

All these drums are controlled by the King as rather lovely tied-to-the-job houses, which should really mean that the inhabitants should get to live in them, complete with servants and security. This in return for undertaking public duties – which Andrew is now banned from undertaking, and the Sussexes have mostly declined unless they are on their terms, and in any case based in the United States.

So what exactly the public receives in return for allocating these grace and favour homes to such redundant royals isn’t entirely clear; and on any practical, realistic reading of their constitutional status are effectively public property.

It might be nice, in other words, if these assorted lodges, houses, apartments, palaces and mansions – of which there are many in the royal inventory – were occupied by people who actually made a significant contribution to the public good.

It’s fascinating, though, how the regal relocations are being reported. The focus is on “Frogxit”, and the supposed snub by the King towards his troublesome son and daughter-in-law.

As ever “Team Sussex” has mobilised on social media and the usual hashtags, such as #kingcharlesthecruel are trending. There is also the usual abuse being chucked at Andrew, reviving his unwise friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The controversy about whether Harry and Meghan will be invited to the coronation is once again revived. On one level, this is royal business as usual – a family treated as episodes in a soap opera. It seems to be intensifying, this tendency to treat them the same way as, say, Madonna or the Kardashians (though we're yet to see a Windsor counterpart to Sam Smith; that would be fun).

Maybe we should organise some “Raftas” or “Roscars” – royal celebrity awards ceremonies – where they can pick up trophies for “best storyline twist” or “gaffe of the year”. The House of Windsor has always had its colourful characters we loved to live or hate: the saintly, hunted Diana; Princess Margaret, the haughty yet ageing wild child; the Queen Mum’s pink chiffon teamed with a steely edge.

The evolving trend in recent years is more insidious though, with ever more bitter tribes forming, getting indescribably angry about the behaviour of people they will never, ever meet.

I’ve a feeling that the unifying power of the institution has been slowly ebbing away without anyone much noticing, distracted as folk are by the stories of betrayals, family divides and literally violent sibling rivalry.

A house divided cannot stand. Not even the House of Windsor.