Prince Andrew hires 'cheap security firm' at Royal Lodge after refusing to leave 30-room mansion

Former Butler to King Charles, Grant Harrold, reacts to news that Prince Andrew was cut off

GB News
Ed Griffiths

By Ed Griffiths


Published: 17/11/2024

- 15:03

The Duke and Duchess of York still reside at Royal Lodge despite divorcing in 1996

Prince Andrew has hired a "cheap security firm" at Royal Lodge after refusing to leave the 30-room mansion.

It comes after King Charles told Andrew that his £1million annual allowance, which he used to fund his security and lifestyle, would finally be axed.


It is now reported that the Duke of York has negotiated a cheaper protection deal at his leased home in an attempt to stay at the property.

A source said: "He has his security but at a cheaper rate and he is managing to finance it himself."

Prince Andrew Royal Lodge

Prince Andrew has hired a "cheap security firm" at the Royal Lodge after he refused to leave the 30-room mansion.

PA

They continued to tell the Sun: "He has dug his heels in and is refusing to move so found a way to finance his security.

"How sustainable in the long term, then who knows how long he can do it for?"

The Duke of York had relied on funding from his brother since 2022 and his late mother, Queen Elizebeth II, since 2019 when he stepped down from royal life after his infamous Newsnight interview.

The father-of-two resisted King Charles's attempts to evict him from the Windsor property and has since found alternative funding, as confirmed by the keeper of the privy purse, Sir Micheal Stevens.

King Charles and Prince Andrew

King Charles started the feud because he wanted to cut royal costs, especially since he or his wife no longer worked for the institution.

Getty

Author Andrew Lownie, writing a book on the Duke of York, told The Sun: "Prince Andrew is likely to have many forms of income."

Despite not being official working royals, Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson still reside at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, fuelling a feud between the duke and his older brother.

Frogmore Cottage, the former home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was suggested as a suitable replacement for Andrew, who lost his right to taxpayer-funded security after being stripped of his royal duties.

King Charles is understood to have wanted to cut royal costs, especially since Andrew and Fergie no longer work on behalf of the institution.

Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice

Jennie Bond suggested that the Princess of York is in a perfect position to mediate between the brothers.

BBC / Getty

Royal biographer Robert Hardman revealed that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, suggested evicting the prince, and she would have done so if she had lived another year.

A royal commentator suggested that Princess Beatrice, the oldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, is "torn" over her loyalty to her father and the King.

Former BBC correspondent Jennie Bond said that the Princess of York is in a perfect position to mediate between the brothers, as she is a trusted member of the Royal Family and remains close to Andrew.

She said that Beatrice "must be so torn between loyalty to the Crown and loyalty to her father."

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