02 December 2024 , 20:13
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As speculation grows over Prince Andrew’s living arrangements and finances, sources have claimed they know who is paying for the upkeep of Windsor’s Royal Lodge
Prince Andrew remains at his royal residence despite reportedly being asked to leave by King Charles - but how?
Since 2004, the disgraced Duke of York has lived at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. The 30-room mansion was leased to Andrew following the Queen Mother’s death. But the King has reportedly been asking his younger brother to leave the £30million property for more than a year.
It was reported that Charles had withdrawn Andrew’s £1million ’living allowance’ following his position in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which left many wondering how the Duke would continue to pay for the upkeep of the 17th-century home. With a rumoured annual rent of £260,000 and upkeep of £400,000 it doesn’t come cheap. And yet despite the financial challenges, Andrew appears to be standing firm.
As speculation grows over the Duke’s money woes, sources have claimed they know who is funding his living. One person, allegedly within the royal circle, told Mail Online it’s Charles who has personally cleared his brother’s bills.
They said: "He [Andrew] just doesn’t have that many friends any more. He barely goes out, he’s not that welcome anywhere. So it’s got to be family, and the obvious person is the King. I mean, why would anybody who’s not family want to give him money when they’re not going to get anything out of it except a lot of flack?"
Another person also claimed Charles had enabled Andrew to stay at Royal Lodge for the foreseeable future with money from the monarch’s own back pocket - not the public’s taxes. The source, who has reportedly been a guest at the Windsor mansion before, said: "Charles has paid for it all. The King has cleared it. It’s all done."
It comes as a royal author has warned that Charles has a huge decision to make regarding Andrew with Christmas approaching - will he be allowed to walk with the rest of the royals to church at Sandringham on Christmas morning?
For the last two years, Andrew has been allowed to make the public journey to church alongside the King, Queen Camilla, his daughter Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and last year, his ex-wife, Sarah. And The Times reports that if Andrew is allowed to join this year, it will show he hasn’t been completely frozen out by Charles.
However, royal writer Stephen Bates says this does not mean a full rapprochement between the brothers and he said: "Charles has a clear sense of the damage Andrew has done to the institution of monarchy."
Andrew is believed to spend much of his time at the Windsor residence after he was forced to step down from public duties following his disastrous Newsnight interview five years ago. It appears he spends his days going for horse rides and playing golf.
In 1931, Royal Lodge was gifted to George VI and the Queen Mother - the then-Duke and Duchess of York - as a weekend retreat. Following the Queen Mother’s death, Royal Lodge was leased to Prince Andrew. Along with the main house, the lease included the Gardener’s Cottage, the Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages, police security accommodation and a whopping 40 hectares of land.
He was required to pay for any renovations himself, which reportedly were in the region of £7.5million. In 2004, he then moved into Royal Lodge with his two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and soon after so did his ex-wife Sarah after signing a 75-year lease.
Frogmore Cottage, the home reportedly being earmarked for Andrew, was formerly the UK residence of Harry and Meghan. Last year, the couple were forced to hand back the keys to the property at the request of the King as they had hardly used the home since they dramatically quit the UK to live in California.