Prince Andrew: King Charles ‘won’t leave his brother homeless and penniless’

The King will not leave Prince Andrew homeless and penniless and will continue to support him, royal sources insisted last night, despite reports he faces ‘eviction’ from his £30m Windsor home.

The disgraced duke has told friends he will be unable to pay upkeep of the Royal Lodge when his annual grant of £249,000 is slashed from April.

He claims that by September he will be forced to vacate the 30-room mansion, which has a pool and sits on 98 acres.

Royal Lodge, where the prince, 63, lives with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, also 63, is understood to require extensive work.

He stopped receiving public money when he resigned from his royal duties in 2019 in disgrace over the alleged sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre, one of the victims of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which he denies.

Prince Andrew fears that without the monarch’s funds, he will not be able to maintain the sprawling 30-bedroom Royal Lodge on the Windsor grounds.

The late Queen supported Andrew with private funds from the Duchy of Lancaster, but King Charles, 74, has made no secret of his desire for a leaner monarchy, believing that is what the public wants.

He is reviewing how money is being spent since taking control of the £652.8m Duchy of Lancaster fund, also known as the Privy Purse, and has told non-working royals to expect to have to squeeze their necks. belt.

The Duke has told his friends that he feels he is being singled out, as his only other annual income is a small pension from the Navy.

A friend said: ‘It feels like his brother wants to evict him.’

But last night, a source told the Daily Mail that the claims appear to be based on “fears, not full facts”.

It is understood that the King will not leave him homeless or penniless, but he wants Andrew to use his own money to pay for things.

The king is expected to continue to support his brother if he wishes, with fears the duke will be left with no place to live or ‘unfounded’ money.

He is believed to have guaranteed Andrew an income, albeit a small one, and a house, and is understood to have agreed to privately pay for the Duke’s security, estimated at £3m a year, after the Home Office sacked Andrew. his protection officers from Scotland Yard.

It is understood that all members of the Royal Family have been told to buckle down and expect less money from the Duchy, now owned by Carlos, than in the past.

Friends suggest that Duke (pictured Saturday) is now looking at business opportunities and is considering a move to America.

The duke was seen riding in Windsor on Saturday as friends say he is “less upset” about losing his royal roles than the public might think.

It was also noted that the Duke received a substantial inheritance from the late Queen and Prince Philip.

Andrew signed a 75-year lease for Royal Lodge in 2003 for a one-time £1 million. The terms of the lease require him to pay for any recommended renovations.

The documents reveal that the total spent on repairs exceeds £7.5m.

Andrew and Sarah divorced in 1996 but remain close friends, and she moved into Royal Lodge in 2008. She also has a £5m townhouse in London’s Mayfair.

Andrew received a house in Sunninghill, Berkshire, as a wedding gift from the Queen, but decided to sell it for £15 million to a Kazakh billionaire.

The late Queen is said to have paid her out-of-court settlement to Ms Giuffre, reportedly £12m, in February 2022. The Duke is now seeking to have it annulled.

Andrew has been evicted from Buckingham Palace and told he cannot have an apartment or office there when its £369m renovation is complete in 2027.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.