Reports suggest that the King is severing financial ties with the disgraced Duke of York. Andrew’s hefty £1 million “living allowance” has been axed by Charles, as revealed in a serialisation of a new book by esteemed Royal author Robert Hardman in the Daily Mail.
This decision is viewed as another move by the King to distance himself from his brother following the scandal involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In his upcoming book, Mr Hardman details that the keeper of the privy purse was “instructed to sever his living allowance” after Andrew allegedly refused to vacate the Royal Lodge, a grand 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, for the more modest Frogmore Cottage.
The duke reportedly secured a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge back in 2003. Drawing on an insider source, Mr Hardman notes: “‘The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,’ confirms one familiar with the situation.
“‘He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs – which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case. But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter.'”
It was disclosed in August that the King planned to cancel Andrew’s security at the Royal Lodge, costs of which had previously been covered personally by Charles after his brother was stripped of publicly-funded police protection in 2022. In July, it was affirmed by palace officials that Frogmore Cottage remained uninhabited for over a year since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
The heat was turned up on Andrew this year following the unsealing of extensive court documents related to the Epstein debacle, wherein financier Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-housekeeper Juan Alessi alleged that the duke received daily massages during the “weeks” he spent at Epstein’s Florida abode. Historic accusations re-emerged in these documents implying Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre thrice when she was 17, including an incident at an orgy.
Andrew has vehemently refuted these allegations, maintaining he has no recollection of meeting her, and settled a civil lawsuit with Ms Giuffre out of court in 2022 by paying out a multi-million-pound sum. Buckingham Palace has not commented on the matter.
