1 November 2024, 17:34
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Prince Andrew has finally been cut off financially by King Charles, new reports claim.
Marking a new low in the brothers’ ever-faltering relationship, the King made the decisive move to cut the disgraced duke off, Royal author Robert Hardman has said.
King Charles has reportedly instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse, the official in control of royal finances, to end his brother’s annual allowance, believed to be worth around £1 million.
Andrew will also lose his multi-million-pound private security deal, Hardman claims.
Andrew’s private security has been privately funded by Charles after he lost publicly-funded police protection in 2022 amid allegations of sexual assault.
“The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,” a source told the MailOnline.
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Andrew, who has seen his public standing plummet in recent years due to his friendship with the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, allegedly tried to call his older brother’s bluff in a failed attempt to keep the cash.
This comes after reports that Charles had demanded Andrew leave his Royal Lodge home or lose all income from the family.
Charles and Andrew came to an agreement last summer that would allow him to stay in the property.
Andrew, however, refused to leave the lodge.
A source told the Times in May: “The King’s kindness is not without limit and there is a very good option for Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage, recently vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which also has the benefit of being within the Windsor Castle security cordon hence reducing the need for alternative round-the-clock security for Royal Lodge.
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“He is taking longer than desirable to recognise the reality of the situation, even though it is clearly the most sensible course of action.
“If he doesn’t agree to move to a property better suited to his needs, then the King may have to reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide.”
In January, reports suggested Andrew would have to fund the multi-million-pound security costs at Royal Lodge himself if he wanted to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Pressure has mounted on Andrew following the unsealing of hundreds of pages of court documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The legal papers detailed how Epstein’s former housekeeper Juan Alessi claimed the duke had daily massages when he spent “weeks” at the paedophile financier’s Florida home.
Juan Alessi, who worked at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, said the duke and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were friends with Epstein and the now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Previous allegations Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre three times when she was 17 including during an orgy resurfaced in the court documents.
Andrew strenuously denies the claims and in 2022 paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil case out of court, saying he never met her.