King Charles to axe Prince Andrew’s private security team

Prince Andrew reportedly refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Photo / Getty Images

Britain’s King Charles is to axe Prince Andrew’s security team, according to media reports.

The Duke of York’s private security have been privately funded by King Charles after he lost publicly funded police protection in 2022.

According to the Sun on Sunday, members of the security detail have been told their services will not be needed from November.

A palace insider told the UK newspaper: “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?”

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

The Sun said the King and Prince Andrew are staying at the Balmoral estate in Scotland this weekend.

Pressure on Andrew continues to mount after the unsealing of hundreds of pages of court documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Earlier this year, it was reported Andrew refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge into nearby Frogmore Cottage. He was said to have signed a 75-year lease on the mansion in 2003.

Prince Andrew has reportedly been in a row with King Charles over refusing to move from the Royal Lodge to nearby Frogmore Cottage. Photo / Getty Images

In January, reports suggested Prince Andrew would have to fund the multimillion-pound security costs at Royal Lodge himself if he wanted to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.

A batch of legal papers released earlier this year detailed how Epstein’s former housekeeper Juan Alessi claimed the duke had daily massages when he spent “weeks” at the paedophile financier’s Florida home.

Alessi, who worked at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, said both the Duke and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were friends with Epstein and now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Previous allegations Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre three times when she was 17, including during an orgy, resurfaced in the court documents.

He strenuously denies the claims and in 2022 paid millions to Giuffre to settle a civil case out of court, saying he never met her.

Britain’s Metropolitan Police said no new investigation has been launched.