Prince Andrew has been officially cut off financially by the King, marking a new low in relations between the brothers.
An updated biography by acclaimed royal writer Robert Hardman, serialized by the Mail, reveals that despite the Duke of York’s attempts to bluff the monarch, Charles acted decisively.
In recent weeks he has ordered his Keeper of the Privy Purse, the monarchy’s chief financial officer, to abolish his beleaguered younger brother’s annual personal allowance – believed to be around £1 million a year – and to stop paying for his seven-figure stipend. private security detail.
“The duke is no longer a financial burden on the king,” a source confirmed.
Prince Andrew has now been officially cut off financially by the King, marking a new low in relations between the royal brothers
The king, who has also long made clear his desire to see Andrew move out of his huge 30-room mansion in Windsor, Royal Lodge, has now put the ball firmly back in his brother’s court.
In doing so, Hardman reveals for the first time, he has fulfilled his late mother’s determination to solve the ‘Andrew question’ once and for all.
Impeccably placed sources reveal that had she lived another year, Queen Elizabeth, who has long been accused of being reluctant to take action against her favorite son, would have forced him to leave his family home and move to Frogmore Cottage , the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
An updated edition of Hardman’s best-selling biography, Charles III: New King. New Court. Published earlier this year, The Inside Story is now released in hardback with additional material and three new chapters packed with fascinating details.
Among the new revelations is how Prince Harry’s determination to take dogged legal action against the Home Office over its decision to withdraw his 24-hour security when he stepped down from royal duties drove a wedge between father and son .
The king fears that if he mends his relationship with Harry, he could be implicated in the case, putting him in ‘legal jeopardy’.
Royal insiders have also hit back at suggestions they failed to help Meghan when she joined the royal family, saying she threw their offer in their faces.
They insist that, rather than throwing the Duchess to the wolves as she has suggested, they did everything in their power to help her – and it was she who said no.
Sources say the king is not against any form of rapprochement with the Sussexes, despite the barrage of criticism he has received. But it has not been an easy process.
Impeccably placed sources reveal that if she had lived another year, Queen Elizabeth would have forced Andrew to leave his childhood home, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park
She is said to have had him downsize to Frogmore Cottage, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Among the new revelations is how Prince Harry’s determination to take dogged legal action against the Home Office over its decision to withdraw his 24-hour security when he stepped down from royal duties drove a wedge between father and son .
When Harry returned to Britain in May, the two did not meet. The prince was offered a room at Buckingham Palace, but chose to stay in a hotel.
“We were told this was for security reasons,” said a member of the King’s staff. “I’m not sure you can get anywhere safer than the Palace.”
As for Andrew, it can now be revealed that his attempts to play a dangerous game of high-stakes poker above Royal Lodge against his brother have backfired.
Sources close to the Duke of York have long claimed he has an ironclad, long-term lease on the late Queen Mother’s former home in Windsor Great Park.
Although he is no longer assuming royal duties, has been stripped of his patronages and military associations and effectively barred from using his HRH title in public due to his association with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke is determined to hold on to the remains of his previous life. , especially his house.
Andrew has been stripped of his patronages and military associations and effectively barred from using his HRH title in public due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein
He has made it clear to the King’s advisers that they have no right to force him to make cuts and has firmly rejected the suggestion that he move to nearby Frogmore Cottage, which, although smaller with five bedrooms, appears to be sufficient for his needs and has the added benefit of being in the ‘steel security ring’ of Windsor Castle.
Now that the king has essentially called his brother’s bluff, Andrew will have to find the money to maintain his vast estate, as well as his security staff, without any visible sign of an independent income.
According to Hardman, this apparently includes the cost of protecting several valuable and historic works of art and furniture borrowed from the Royal Collection, the treasury of antiques that the monarch holds on behalf of the nation.
Andrew has repeatedly claimed that he can continue to pay for his own upkeep, claiming to have found ‘other sources of income’ linked to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs. But His Majesty will be watching with interest.
“If he can find the money, that’s his business, but if not, he will find that the king does not have unlimited patience,” adds an insider.
Family friends say that although the case has been temporarily resolved, Andrew’s “stubbornness” has “soured” family relations.
- Adapted from Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, published by Macmillan on November 7.