King Charles III is reportedly planning to slash the grant that funds Prince Andrew’s lavish lifestyle, and Prince Andrew is “distraught.” Sources close to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York have told reporters from The Daily Mail that Buckingham Palace has warned him his annual grant will soon be cut. Prince Andrew reportedly believes the king is trying to force him out of the royal spotlight due to his sexual assault allegations and his connection with Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew lives in a massive home in Windsor worth about $30 million, thanks mostly to his annual grant from the British royal family, but that could change soon. The “Royal Lodge” has 30 rooms and reportedly requires some serious renovations, and the prince thinks this might be part of the king’s justification for having him removed from the house. Prince Andrew stopped receiving public funds in 2019 when he was sued for sexual assault in connection with the alleged sex trafficking operation of Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew has continued to deny these accusations but he apparently fears the rest of the royal family is still concerned about it.
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Prince Andrew reportedly relied on private funds gifted to him by Queen Elizabeth II before her death. He was receiving ยฃ249,000 per year from the Duchy of Lancaster, but the members of the royal family have all been told to expect less money from that fund going forward now that it’s under the control of King Charles.
Prince Andrew has reportedly told his close friends that he believes he is being targeted more than others in the royal family by this belt-tightening. One source close to him said: “It feels as though his brother wishes to evict him,” while another added: “He’s not being explicitly kicked out but it’s expected that he won’t be able to afford the maintenance. Royal Lodge has a swimming pool, 98 acres of land and is already in need of some repair.”
“They’ve been told their subsidy, vital for maintaining Royal Lodge, will be cut as soon as April,” a third friend said. Prince Andrew will reportedly continue to get paid his annual Navy pension, but that will be his only unaffected income. If all these cuts come to fruition, friends are reportedly advising Prince Andrew to explore some other commercial opportunities to make money. They’ve pointed out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have found ways to make a living outside of royal duties. Others believe the prince can continue to live off of his inheritance and his pension.
“This is about Charles telling Andrew that he can use his own money to pay for things. The same goes for other members of the family, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie,” an insider said. “And while there is leniency with working members of the family, who have offices funded by the Sovereign Grant, there have been other examples.” So far, Buckingham Palace has not commented on these reports officially, so all this information remains unconfirmed.
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY โ JUNE 24: Stephen Colbert speaks onstage during "An Evening with Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan" at Newark's NJPAC as part of the inaugural North to Shore Festival and presented by Montclair Film at NJPAC โ Prudential Hall on June 24, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Montclair Film and North to Shore Festival )