ANDS DOWN
‘Arrogant’ Prince Andrew ‘feels like he’s lost everything’ & is in ‘hot water’ with Charles amid new Royal Lodge row
Scroll down for more on Prince Andrew's 'crumbling' Royal Lodge
PRINCE Andrew is ‘arrogant’ and has found himself in ‘hot water’ amid a new Royal Lodge dispute, claims a royal commentator.
It has long been rumoured that King Charles, 75, is running out of patience with his younger brother - the beleaguered Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
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And an updated version of 'Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story' by Robert Hardman says the Monarch has finally cut off funding for his brother for his home, Royal Lodge - the £30m 19th century listed Windsor pad he shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Hardman claims that the Keeper of the Privy Purse, who looks after the royal finances, has been instructed to end the personal allowance for Andrew, who has already had his security payments removed.
But there is new controversy after it was revealed that Prince Andrew has now found a benefactor willing to stump up millions of pounds to help him keep his publicly owned home.
It was reported yesterday that Andrew had shown Palace officials that he has the required funds to maintain upkeep of the 30-room mansion.
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And Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the privy purse, approved the money as coming from legitimate sources, reported.
It has not been revealed who the rich pal is, sparking new fury about Andrew and his finances.
Royal Lodge, where the late Queen Elizabeth spent part of her childhood, boasts 40 hectares of woodland and lawns, eight cottages, and lodgings for security personnel.
Charles is said to have wanted Andrew out of the house for years - but a new revelation in the book claims that the late Queen had decided in the last year of her life that she also wanted Andrew to quit the residence.
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Her wish was said to be the same as that of Charles - that Andrew should move into the much more modest Frogmore Cottage, which is also in Windsor Great Park and has been vacant since Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan Markle, 43, left the UK.
However, Andrew, who moved into Royal Lodge, the former home of the Queen Mother, in 2004 - refused to move, after taking on a lease that lasts until 2078.
‘Selfish’ Prince Andrew has NO respect for Charles after letting his ‘free’ house ROT - he has to go, royal expert says
As part of the agreement, Andrew is obliged to maintain repairs on the property.
But there is increasing doubt cast on this possibility, since the recent appearance of photographs that appear to show the mansion in a poor state - with peeling paint and black mould.
It's no surprise that Andrew is reported to be in 'hot water' with Charles, as after the recent benefactor update, everyone has been left questioning who is financing him.
There are reports that Andrew’s benefactor might be someone he met during his time as a UK trade envoy, where the Duke also had a predilection for friends of what might be called questionable character.
To add to his pressures, Andrew also has to safeguard numerous invaluable and historic artworks and furniture pieces on loan from the Royal Collection.
He gets himself into hot water with his stubbornness
Rupert Bell
It's the closest Andrew has come to being evicted since he stepped down as a working royal in May 2020, a source told , emphasising the high stakes of Charles's decision.
Royal commentator Rupert Bell said: “[Andrew] feels like he lost everything and if he loses his house, well then he probably feels that even more has been taken away from him.
“One of the problems that Prince Andrew has is that he is occasionally convinced of his rightness, and he gets himself into hot water with his stubbornness and sometimes his own arrogance has caused him to create these problems.”
It’s no wonder that eyebrows are being raised over how Andrew can afford his upkeep, given he was stripped of his status after becoming embroiled in a scandal due to his association with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Inside Prince Andrew's 'crumbling' Royal Lodge
THE disgraced Duke of York resides at the £30million Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire - at least for now.
King Charles has redoubled his efforts to evict the Duke - with insiders branding the stand-off the "siege of Royal Lodge".
Despite his divorce from Sarah Ferguson in 1996, Prince Andrew lives with his ex-wife at the countryside estate.
Prince Andrew's royal residence, with its eye-catching white exterior, boasts 30 rooms with plenty of space for entertaining, plus seven bedrooms spread across the two topmost floors.
The Duke of York is said to spend all day "watching TV in a dark room" like a prisoner at his "crumbling" home.
Royal Lodge is said to "need extensive repairs", thought to be about £400,000 a year.
The monarch is said to be becoming increasingly frustrated at Andrew’s refusal to care for the colossal mansion.
Andrew is said to have promised he would take care of its expensive repairs - despite having no apparent source of income.
He was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre and handed over millions to settle the case against him - although he has always vehemently protested his innocence and insisted he never even met her.
Andrew appeared on BBC current affairs show Newsnight for a now infamous interview with Emily Maitlis in November 2019.
While Andrew initially believed his BBC interview had gone 'quite well’, millions of TV viewers thought otherwise.
'There is no way back for Prince Andrew', claims PR guru
PRINCE Andrew’s reputation is damaged beyond repair and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain’s top PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs East of Eden PR agency, called the shamed royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop - a Netflix movie based on the 2019 interview he gave to Newsnight.
Nick said: “There is no way back for him.
“I think you know this perpetual idea that he could still be back. Nobody cares. He hasn't got fans.
“There's nobody out there who's going ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not one single person. I think he has to realise that. But I think it's going to take a long, long time for him to actually understand. It's very deluded.
"In my opinion, the best thing that he could do is just enjoy his life. He's got gorgeous daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a lovely house.
“Just live a quiet life.”
Reflecting on the interview five years ago - the fallout of which saw Andrew step back from royal duties "for the foreseeable future" - Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have urged him not to do it.
He said: “If I had been advising him, I would say, go quiet, be quiet, just go to ground. You know you're a prince. Enjoy the life that you lead, but do not open this can of worms, because that's what it is.
“There was no admission that a relationship with somebody like Epstein was terribly toxic. There was no idea that there were loads of victims of trafficking whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein. He didn't seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything but positive.
“I think his worst gaffe was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, for not realising that he's actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who is going to ask him questions which he might not like.
“But I think what this has done is really shown how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
"Read the room. He's never read a room at all.”
Following a massive backlash, the Duke announced he would 'step back from public duties.'
Andrew said in his statement: “It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.
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“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”
Now, Andrew is now said to live a rather reclusive existence - spending his days playing golf, riding and watching television behind the walls of his estate - the refuge he is said to be desperate to hang on to.
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