King Charles 'has vowed not to leave Prince Andrew homeless or penniless'

King Charles 'has vowed not to leave Prince Andrew homeless or penniless'

King Charles,Prince andrew Duke of York

Duke of York is said to be struggling to maintain 98-acre Royal Lodge at Windsor as he faces cut in his annual allowance

King Charles will not leave his brother "homeless or penniless" it is understood, as the Duke of York fears being forced out of the Royal Lodge.

Prince Andrew is set to have his £249,000 annual allowance cut from April. He has been relying upon it since he lost public money upon leaving frontline royal duties.

He is telling friends that this will leave him unable to maintain the 98-acre Windsor property.

But while the monarch is on a drive to slim down spending, a royal source told the Telegraph: “The King is not going to leave his brother homeless or penniless.”

The private annual grant, from the Duchy of Lancaster, was previously overseen by the late Queen.

Andrew bought a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge, the Queen Mother’s former home on the Windsor Estate, for £1 million after she died in 2002, but was required to carry out costly repairs and renovations.

Royal Lodge is the former home of the Queen's mother


Another source told the Mail on Sunday: "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.

"And while there is leniency with working members of the family, who have offices funded by the Sovereign Grant, there have been other examples.

"Sophie and Edward’s daughter Lady Louise, for example, inherited Prince Philip’s carriage but Charles doesn’t feel like he should pay for the upkeep of the ponies to pull the carriage."

The Duke's main other source of income is his Navy pension, as well as a substantial inheritance from the late Queen and Prince Philip.

He was given Sunninghill Park in Ascot, Berks, as a wedding present by the Queen; however, he chose to sell it for £15 million to a Kazakh billionaire in 2007.

King Charles


Another expense thought to be funded by the King is Prince Andrew's private security, after his taxpayer-funded Met Police armed guards were removed.

The Duke has also paid Virginia Roberts Giuffre, his accuser in a sex abuse case in which he denies all allegations, more than £12 million in an out-of-court settlement last year.

The late Queen privately funded the Duke's legal fight to the tune of millions of pounds and partly funded the settlement in order to allow her son to draw a line under the case.

The Duke has since taken on his late mother's beloved corgis, and still lives with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

She bought a £5 million Mayfair house last year from the Duke of Westminster but it was reported that the property was seen as an investment opportunity for her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

That "outraged" a French chalet owner who endured a protracted dispute with the couple over the 2014 sale of her property in Verbier, Switzerland, in which she accepted a lower payment of £3.4 million despite being owed double that.

King Charles III has long had a vision for a slimmed-down monarchy, which will extend to his "cost of living" coronation in May which will be less extravagant than previously, as well as reflecting his desire to be "the people's King".

Aside from the Duke of York's grant, areas of focus for a leaner monarchy include the future use of the numerous royal properties across Britain as well as how much presence King Charles has at Buckingham Palace after its renovation.

The Telegraph 

Previous Post Next Post