Duke of York finds money to stay at Royal Lodge

The Duke of York has raised the money to stay at Royal Lodge, it is reported.

Prince Andrew’s money has been approved by Sir Michael Stevens, the keeper of the privy wallet, as coming from legitimate sources, The Times said.

The 64-year-old Duke has faced pressure from the King to leave the £30 million Windsor estate and move into Frogmore Cottage, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The king took out his younger brother’s ten-member private security teamforcing the Duke to find millions of pounds to fund future security operations if he wanted to avoid deportation.

By insisting that he pay for his own security, Buckingham Palace courtiers believed they could force the Duke’s hand in moving to the much smaller Frogmore Cottage.

However, the Duke is now said to have convinced the palace authorities that he has sufficient funds from legitimate sources to support himself. It is unclear where the money came from and how much the duke has raised.

Split benefit

It comes just a month after the King reportedly abolished the Duke’s “£1 million a year” allowance.

In an updated biography of the monarch, author Robert Hardman revealed that King Charles had ordered Sir Michael to ‘sever’ his brother’s maintenance allowance.

The new chapters of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, published by the Daily Mail, features a palace insider confirming that “the Duke is no longer a financial burden on the King”.

The Duke’s annual allowance – believed to be well over £1 million – was reportedly cut by the frostas are all the payments for his seven-figure private security detail.

The Telegraph revealed in January that the King was prepared to withdraw the private funding he is putting into the security operation in what has become an increasingly bitter standoff over the future of Royal Lodge.

At the time, however, the duke did not believe that his older brother would be so unkind, it is understood.

His determination to continue living in the house, which he also shares with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, has emerged as an increasing bone of contention.

Stripped of its patronages and duties as a working member of the royal family, it is considered too great an asset for anyone befitting its new status.

‘Cold and uncomfortable’

In May, a palace source warned: “As things stand, life at the Royal Lodge will become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the Duke.”

Weeks later, a source said the move could either be carried out “with grace and dignity” or it could be forced on him.

It is said that the Duke is determined to leave the lease of Royal Lodge to his daughtersPrincess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The duke’s lease gives him the right to live in the monumental building until 2078. But the contract contains a clause that he must keep it at an appropriate level.

The terms of the 75-year lease with the Crown Estate, which was signed in 2003, require the Duke to repaint the house every five years and also to “repair, renovate, maintain, clean and keep in repair and where necessary rebuild” it pledge.

The disgraced duke stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after a disastrous Newsnight interview in which he expressed no remorse over his past friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender.

He later paid several million pounds to settle a civil case against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, who claimed he 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 allowed to reprise his public roles.

Prince Andrew’s own finances have long remained opaque, seemingly structured around a series of secret business transactions.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.