The Duke of York’s funds were approved as coming from legitimate sources, per ‘The Sunday Times’
Prince Andrew has raised the money needed to continue staying at the Royal Lodge after King Charles had his personal allowance cut, according to a new report.
The Duke of York, 64 — whose older brother reportedly instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse to remove his £1 million ($1.3 million) annual personal allowance and to stop paying for his personal security following a reported ultimatum to relocate — has now raised the money to continue living at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, where he’s been residing since 2003, according to The Sunday Times. He lives in the 31-room estate with his ex wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Per the outlet, Prince Andrew’s funds were approved by the Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Stevens as coming from legitimate sources.
Buckingham Palace had no comment when reached by PEOPLE.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x685:751x687):format(webp)/royal-lodge-windsor-11924-2a15e004aa1944bc96677244c76f6240.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1)
The latest update comes after King Charles, 75, recently eliminated some financial ties to the Duke of York, per a book excerpt shared by The Daily Mail earlier this month.
In an updated version of his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, author Robert Hardman wrote that Prince Andrew did not accept a proposal to relocate from the Royal Lodge in Windsor to the “considerably smaller property” of Frogmore Cottage — which was formerly occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before their move to the United States.
According to The Times, the Duke of York has been living on the property since 2003. He has spent over $9 million on repairs and renovations, as well as $1 million to take it over, and he had an annual rent of about $337,000, the outlet said.
Prince Andrew’s reported proposal rejection led to his allowance being severed, as well as his personal security — which the King had been paying for after Andrew lost his police protection in 2022, according to The Sun.
The Duke of York stepped back from public duties after his 2019 Newsnight interview and before the late Queen Elizabeth stripped him of military titles and patronages amid Virginia Guiffre’s civil sexual assault lawsuit, which has since been settled. Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(954x333:956x335):format(webp)/prince-andrew-king-charles-queen-elizabeth-funeral-11224-572de48f73cc4d92b2d4453f93d72ec4.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1)
Per the excerpt shared last week, if the Duke of York had continued to reside at the Royal Lodge in Windsor and rejected “the King’s offer of Frogmore Cottage,” then he was told the King “would feel no obligation to continue paying even his day-to-day living allowance.”
“The Duke informed the monarch that, regardless of any ultimatum, he was going to stay put at Royal Lodge anyway,” Hardman wrote in his book. “At which point, the Keeper of the Privy Purse (the monarchy’s finance director) was instructed to sever his living allowance.”
His lease agreement with the Crown Estate is valid until 2078, according to The Times.
Per The Sun and The Times, King Charles was estimated to be paying nearly $4 million annually for his brother’s security.
Source people.com
