Prince Andrew's fight to win back £3m armed security damaged by 'embarrassing' leak

However, Andrew has launched a fight to get the security back despite not being a working member of the Royal Family.

The royal's bid also has the backing of former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Patel emailed one of King Charles's top aides suggesting a review of Andrew's current security arrangements should be considered.

However, the Conservative MP was forced to apologise to the King after the email was leaked.

Patel said: "It is disappointing that this correspondence has been leaked into the public domain and I apologise to His Majesty for the embarrassment and difficulties the publishing of this correspondence has caused."

Royal commentator Ingrid Seward criticised the way Patel approached the issue of Andrew's security.

Seward told The Sun: “The King will be deeply embarrassed by this.

"The issue is so controversial he won’t go anywhere near it.

"Ms Patel should have known he has no power over these decisions.

"Her meddling was deeply unwise and deeply unfair on The King and will damage Andrew’s cause, not help it.

"And the bottom line remains, why should the public pay £3million a year to protect a man who rarely leaves his home?"

Prince Andrew stepped down as a working member of the Royal Family in 2019 following a disastrous TV interview regarding his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In 2022, Andrew paid a financial settlement to his accuser Virginia Giuffre to bring to an end a sexual assault case against him.

The out-of-court settlement accepted no liability and the Duke of York has always strongly rejected claims of wrongdoing.