Queen ‘planned’ to purge ‘bully’ Prince Andrew before death
As Prince Andrew’s $2 million a year allowance is cut by the King, it also emerged that the late Queen had wanted her son out of a Windsor mansion, evicting the Sussexes in the process.
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The late Queen planned to kick Meghan Markle and Prince Harry out of Windsor’s Frogmore Cottage and move Prince Andrew in, according to reports.
The disgraced Duke of York was also described as a “bully” in a new book by royal writer Robert Hardman published in the Daily Mail.
Mr Hardman claimed the Queen wanted to find Prince Andrew another home away from the Royal Lodge - a 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Such a move would have involved evicting The Duke and Duchess of Sussex out of Frogmore Cottage.
Citing an insider source, Mr Hardman writes: “’Had she lived another year, he would have been out,’ says a former adviser to the late Queen firmly.
“’It was her plan to move him out, to end the lease for the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage and to move Andrew in there.
“It was mainly a money thing, as she could see it was becoming unsustainable.”
Mr Hardman also alleged that the late Queen’s staff were “more than happy to make it happen”.
When his rooms were taken over in Buckingham Palace, one staff member recalled: “’No one felt guilty about taking over his office because he and his people had become bullies by the end.’”
It comes as the Cold War between King Charles and his disgraced brother Prince Andrew took another turn.
According to various reports in the English media, King Charles has officially cut off Prince Andrew’s £1 million ($2m) a year allowance.
It’s the latest in a set of hostilities between the brothers, that has borne greater friction since Charles ascended to the top of the monarchy, much of which is centred around Andrew’s refusal to leave the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
The Sun reports that the King has officially instructed his Keeper of the Privy Purse to stop the flow of cash to his shamed younger brother, according to royal author Robert Hardman.
A source claimed: “The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King.”
The revelation comes in Hardman’s updated biography, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, which was initially published earlier this year but is now being released as a hardback.
The new edition includes never-before-seen information compiled into three new chapters.
It revealed Charles has made his final decision after the disgraced Duke, 64, tried to call his bluff.
Prince Andrew hasn’t received an income since he was embroiled in sex allegations after his longstanding friendship with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles has been reluctantly funding security, as well as a hefty living allowance for him since. Both those monies from Charles to Andrew have now officially dried up.
Pressures have also been mounting to kick Andrew out of Royal Lodge and into a smaller residence.
“If he can find the money, then that is up to him, but if not, he will find that the King does not have unlimited patience,” added the insider.
In August, it was revealed Charles has stopped funding Andrew’s private security detail, which consisted of 10 people. With many believing this was another move to get Prince Andrew out of the Royal Lodge.
Now, several months on, it is said that the King has ‘lost patience’ with his younger brother.
Andrew is said to be reluctant to move out of the Royal Lodge because “he doesn’t want to admit guilt”.
The Duke could find a way to pay his security and household bills without an allowance from Charles.
Or, he could move to “more suitable accommodation” like Harry and Meghan’s old home Frogmore Cottage.
Earlier this year it was revealed Prince Andrew, who lives at the Lodge with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, had rejected the chance to move to Frogmore.
Andrew was stripped of his roles and patronages after forking out millions to settle Virginia Giuffre’s case against him.
He however vowed to fight accusations of sexual assault by former Epstein slave Ms Giuffre.
The Duke ended up paying millions of pounds to Ms Giuffre and the case never went to court.
He denies any wrongdoing.
It is still unknown how the father-of-two will finance his life now he can no longer work.
It is unclear whether he received any major windfall from his late mother’s will when she passed away in September 2022.