Nobody will shed a tear at Jeffrey Epstein’s BFF Prince Andrew being booted out of his palatial Windsor mansion. But, incredibly, some close to Andrew are calling Charles heartless for making a move against a member of this family, arguingthat the Duke of York has been nothing but very loyal to the monarchy.
The 64-year-old’s already questionable reputation was obliterated over his close friendship with the most prolific pedophile of the modern age Jeffrey Epstein and the consequent sexual abuse lawsuit filed against him by one of the latter’s victims, Virginia Robert Giuffre.
When the proverbial hit the fan in 2019 Andrew was forced to withdraw from public life and ultimately step back from his royal duties, which means he has no means of income. Despite this, his mother still financially supported him. But with her gone, Andrew is at the mercy of Charles, whose patience with his creepy brother has worn thin.
In the updated biography of his book Charles III: New King. New Court, royal author Robert Hardman revealed that Charles has ordered Sir Michael Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, to stop his sibling’s $1 million plus annual allowance. Andrew has remained mum about this revelation because, well, royals abide by their “never complain, never explain” motto.
Charles has since told Andrew to relocate to the five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s old home, because the upkeep of the moldy and crumbling Royal Lodge would only add to his financial burden.
Property expert Terry Fisher from We Buy Any Home told Hello! that the estate would need “upwards of £250,000” (around $316,000) for repairs, waterproof treatments, repainting, and more. It’s Andrew’s responsibility to “repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair and where necessary rebuild” the property of which he signed a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate in 2003.
But with him out of his brother’s payroll, Andrew reportedly had no choice but to resort to potentially scandalous means (like a rich sugar daddy?) to get the huge sum that would prevent him and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, from being evicted from their 30-room mansion.
This has left the duke’s friend questioning Charles’ motive in kicking his brother out of the Royal Lodge, which according to Fisher, would then be able to be used for alternative purposes, like housing senior royals, hosting official events, or even opening to the public as a museum. The latter has the potential to earn money which the sovereign already has plenty — over $34 million from his Duchy of Lancaster estate alone and another $109 million he will receive this year from the Sovereign Grant.
“Why is the King doing this? And why now? It makes no sense,” one friend of Andrew incredulously told the Daily Mail‘s royal correspondent Richard Eden adding that “the King hardly needs to save money.” Meanwhile, another pal chimed in: “Whatever you think of Andrew or his former wife, they have always been loyal to the Crown. It’s quite remarkable how Sarah has managed to pursue a successful career in public life, and has given countless interviews, yet has never said anything damaging about the Royal Family.”
Eden warns that if Charles doesn’t retract his decision to cut off Andrew’s allowance and allow him to stay at the Royal Lodge, then he runs the risk of his brother running to the press spilling royal secrets in exchange for money. Given that Andrew’s already extremely unhappy family pulled strings to make the under-age sex allegations go away, we’d like to see him try!
Published: Nov 15, 2024 04:52 am