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Security pulled as Royals’ $57m feud explodes

Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew could be left homeless after a $57m feud between him and King Charles has exploded.

Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew could be left homeless after a $57m feud between him and King Charles has exploded.
Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew could be left homeless after a $57m feud between him and King Charles has exploded.

Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew could be left homeless after a $57m feud between him and King Charles has exploded.

Andrew is under new pressure to quit his Royal Lodge home after the King laid off its ten-strong security team.

Charles, 75, has told the detail they are no longer needed from the autumn, The Sun reports.

Over the weekend both The King and Andrew stayed at the Balmoral estate in Scotland as tension over the Duke’s mansion intensifies.

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The Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park – the home at the heart of the Royal feud.
The Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park – the home at the heart of the Royal feud.

The King has been funding ­private guards at the 31-room Windsor pile since Andrew’s £3 million-a-year (A$5.82m) armed cops were removed in 2022 amid the US sex abuse case.

The disgraced Duke of York, 64, has lived at the A$57 million Royal Lodge, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, since 2004 after he signed a 75-year lease agreement the previous year.

A Palace insider told The Sun: “Everyone is speculating this means the Duke will have to leave the Royal Lodge because what other reason could there be to take his security away?

“They are all working the final weeks of their contract till the end of October. It’s not thought anyone is being lined up to replace them.

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Yeoman Warders stand in position in front of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Picture: Getty
Yeoman Warders stand in position in front of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Picture: Getty
The Long Walk of the Windsor Great Park at Windsor Castle Photo.
The Long Walk of the Windsor Great Park at Windsor Castle Photo.

“It isn’t a secret that the King wants him out.”

It is unclear what will happen to the team after they leave.

In May it emerged Charles was turning up the heat on Andy in a stand-off dubbed the “siege of Royal Lodge” — warning his brother’s life will become “increasingly cold and uncomfortable”.

Charles could even cut off the £4 million a year he pays to keep the Duke afloat.

Earlier this year The Sun exclusively revealed Andrew, who lives at the Lodge with ex-wife Sarah ­Ferguson, had rejected the chance to move to nearby Frogmore ­Cottage, former home of Harry and Meghan.

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Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew. Picture: Getty
Disgraced Royal Prince Andrew. Picture: Getty
King Charles III does not see eye-to-eye with his brother Andrew on many issues. Picture: Getty
King Charles III does not see eye-to-eye with his brother Andrew on many issues. Picture: Getty
Prince Andrew’s elder daughter Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi outside The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor after their wedding within July 2020. Picture: Getty
Prince Andrew’s elder daughter Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi outside The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor after their wedding within July 2020. Picture: Getty

Friends of the Duke say his “cast iron” 75-year lease on the Lodge means he has no reason to give up his home he has lived in for the past 20 years.

Palace sources have always insisted Andrew “remains the King’s brother” and is welcome at family events but will never return to public duty.

Andrew has previously been caught lobbying behind the scenes for the Home Office to reinstate his taxpayer-funded security perk.

He lost his round-the-clock Met Police security after he was summoned to Windsor Castle in January 2022 and stripped of his royal roles by the late Queen.

It came after he vowed to fight accusations of sexual assault by former Epstein slave Virginia ­Giuffre

The Duke ended up paying millions of pounds to Ms Giuffre and the case never went to court.

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Prince William, Prince of Wales holds and Catherine, Princess of Wales do not want to move to The Lodge. Picture: Getty
Prince William, Prince of Wales holds and Catherine, Princess of Wales do not want to move to The Lodge. Picture: Getty
Prince Andrew’s younger daughter Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank leave Windsor Castle in an Aston Martin DB10 after their wedding in October 2018. Picture: Getty
Prince Andrew’s younger daughter Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank leave Windsor Castle in an Aston Martin DB10 after their wedding in October 2018. Picture: Getty

He denies any wrongdoing

The fate of the Royal Lodge remains unclear.

The Sun reported the Royal Household would not move any Royals into the property but will look to find a new tenant.

William and Kate do not want to move their family to the Lodge from Adelaide Cottage. Two apartments at Kensington Palace are being refurbished but neither is being earmarked for Andrew, it is understood.

Andrew arrived at Balmoral on Friday for his summer break. The King’s removal van was spotted at the castle over the weekend.

Charles is set to move in — and host the extended Royal Family — after spending recent weeks at nearby Birkhall.

The Sun did not name the private security firm guarding Royal Lodge.

The firm and Buckingham Palace both declined to comment.

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Parts of this article originally appeared in The Sun and are republished here with permission.

Originally published as Security pulled as Royals’ $57m feud explodes

Read related topics:Prince Andrew

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/security-pulled-as-royals-57m-feud-explodes/news-story/48eccbb2dc6ed7317d18355d3f544080