King Charles is ‘letting his feelings’ towards Prince Andrew be known by getting rid of the security team guarding his brother’s £30million home, it was claimed.
The disgraced Duke of York is under growing pressure from His Majesty to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor and into a more modest property in order to save money.
But so far the duke has refused to leave the 19th-century, Grade II-listed building, which has 30 rooms, a pool and 90 acres of land.
This weekend it emerged that the ten-strong team of security guards, who were being funded by Charles, have been told they will not be required from the autumn – prompting speculation the duke will be forced to move.
It is the latest extraordinary twist in the so-called ‘siege of Royal Lodge’.
Former BBC royal reporter Michael Cole said getting rid of the duke’s security team was a ‘radical move’ by the King which would have left Andrew ‘very, very unhappy’.
The King, 75, has long been trying to persuade the Duke of York to leave Royal Lodge in favour of Frogmore Cottage – once the five-bedroom home of Prince Harry and Meghan.
However, it is understood that any attempts to evict him would be difficult because he has lived at the property for 20 years, and signed a 75-year lease after agreeing to maintain it and pay £250 a week.
Mr Cole told GB News yesterday: ‘The King wants his younger brother to move to Frogmore Cottage, which was done up at great expense for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but they decided that Canada and then America were more homely for them.
‘It’s a problem because Prince Andrew… has a 75-year repairing lease, which means he has to look after the place. Now The King can’t move him out legally, but he’s letting his feelings [be] known by removing his security. Prince Andrew is going to look at this in a very, very unhappy way.’
The King is due to arrive with Queen Camilla at the Balmoral estate in Scotland tomorrow to host the extended Royal Family, after spending recent weeks at nearby Birkhall.
Andrew and his daughters may join them – paving the way for a potentially awkward encounter. The 64-year-old was forced to step back from royal duties in May 2020 over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles stepped in to fund his brother’s security guards after armed police costing £3million a year were withdrawn. But sources have said His Majesty has made clear he is unwilling to pay indefinitely for his brother to be guarded around the clock.
Those in royal circles can’t see how the duke can afford to meet the £400,000-a-year upkeep of Royal Lodge, once home to the Queen Mother, when only he and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, live there.
Charles believes his brother has to ‘downsize’ as it is alleged Andrew has no visible means of income and there is a list of costly repairs needed at Royal Lodge, where Andrew has held a long-term lease since 2003. It was reported in October last year that the duke did a deal to stay if he kept up repairs. Fergie is said to have offered to help foot the bill.
But pictures taken in May showed what appeared to be worsening cracks to brickwork, as well as paint peeling from an exterior building.
Andrew’s finances continue to be shrouded in mystery. In 2022, he paid a reported £9.4million settlement to sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre to halt a US civil trial after she said he sexually assaulted her three times when she was 17, which he vehemently denies.
The prince also sold a Swiss chalet for £17million, co-owned with Fergie, but was understood to have debts on the property.
Meanwhile, The Sun on Sunday reported that should the Duke move out of Royal Lodge, the Royal Household would not move any royals into the property but look to find a new tenant instead.
Two apartments at Kensington Palace are being refurbished but neither is being earmarked for Andrew, it is understood.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.