However, the Duke is now said to have convinced palace authorities that he has sufficient funds from legitimate sources to support himself. It is unclear where the funds have come from or how much the Duke has raised.
Severed allowance
It comes just a month after the King reportedly severed the Duke’s “£1m-a-year” allowance.
In an updated biography about the monarch, author Robert Hardman revealed that King Charles had instructed Sir Michael to “sever” his brother’s living allowance.
The new chapters of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, serialised by the Daily Mail, includes a palace insider confirming that “the Duke is no longer a financial burden on the King”.
The Duke’s annual allowance – believed to be upwards of £1m ($2.1m) – was reportedly cut by the monarch, as were all payments towards his seven-figure private security detail.
The Telegraph revealed in January that the King was prepared to withdraw the private funding he ploughs into the security operation in what has become an increasingly bitter standoff over the future of Royal Lodge.
However, at the time, the Duke did not believe his elder brother would be so unkind, it is understood.
His determination to remain at the home which he also shares with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, has proved an increasing bone of contention.
Having been stripped of his patronages and duties as a working member of the Royal family, it is considered too vast a property for someone befitting his new status.
‘Cold and uncomfortable’
In May, one palace source warned: “As things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the Duke.”
Weeks later, a source said the move could either be accomplished “with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him”.
The Duke is said to be determined to bequeath the lease on Royal Lodge to his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The Duke’s lease gives him the right to live in the Grade II-listed property until 2078. But the contract includes a clause that he must maintain it to an appropriate standard.
The terms of the 75-year lease agreement with the Crown Estate, which was signed in 2003, require the Duke to repaint the house every five years and also to “repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair and where necessary rebuild” the property.
The disgraced Duke stepped down from royal duties in 2019 following a disastrous Newsnight interview in which he failed to express regret over his former friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex offender.
He later paid several million pounds to settle a civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, who claimed he had abused her, although he did not admit liability.
The Duke has consistently denied all allegations, but the King has remained adamant that he will not be permitted to reprise any of his public roles.
Prince Andrew’s own finances have long remained opaque, seemingly structured around a string of secretive business dealings.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
