Prince Andrew is bracing for a pivotal moment at Royal Lodge as his security detail is set to be withdrawn this week. The beleaguered Duke of York has clung to the property, valued at around £30 million, in spite of King Charles’ efforts to oust him.
The King has cut off funding for Andrew’s security team at the Windsor estate, aiming to pressure the Duke into leaving. It’s understood that the Duke has managed to arrange his own security measures, but it’s uncertain how long he can afford them.
The security personnel are scheduled to leave by Thursday, the end of October. As an incentive, Charles offered Andrew Frogmore Cottage, previously occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but Andrew, who holds a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, plans to bequeath it to his daughters Eugenie and Beatrice.
He’s required to maintain the property’s condition, yet with Andrew ostracised from public duties due to his association with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, financial difficulties may arise. Andrew resides at Royal Lodge with his former spouse Sarah Ferguson, having settled there two decades ago.
However, new challenges have emerged for the Duke, including the care of corgi pups Sandy and Muick, which he took over after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth in 2022. A royal source has disclosed the challenges of living with corgis, with Craig Brown’s latest biography, ‘Q: A Voyage Around the Queen‘, branding the breed a “nightmare” to live with, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
He writes: “Corgis are, it turns out, an unpredictable, temperamental bunch, one minute cuddly, the next psycho, the Corleones of the dog world.”
He shared a tale about Dookie, the Queen’s first corgi, saying: “Dookie did not restrict his aggression to humans: he would happily attack the dining room chairs at Royal Lodge, the family home in Windsor Great Park.”
Despite their capricious nature, the Queen adored her corgis and had more than 30 throughout her lifetime. She even indulged them with a special menu prepared by the royal chefs.
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