Many believe that Queen Elizabeth II tried to protect, shield and enable Prince Andrew as much as possible because she knew that King Charles would do the most to strip away all of Andrew’s social and literal protections. I still believe that a big deal was struck in early 2022, a deal which saw QEII “loan” Andrew the money to settle out of court with Virginia Giuffre. In exchange for Charles giving “permission” for those Duchy of Lancaster funds to be used, QEII in turn “gave her permission” for Camilla to be referred to as “Queen Consort,” which is something both Charles and Camilla had long sought. I also believe that QEII sought and received assurances from Charles over “looking after/protecting Andrew.” For a while, Charles followed through: he picked up Andrew’s security costs – something between $3-5 million annually – through Duchy of Lancaster funds. Then Charles changed his mind. He’s currently seeking to push Andrew out of Royal Lodge, and as part of the maneuvering behind the scenes, Charles has apparently cut off Andrew’s security.
Disgraced Prince Andrew is under new pressure to quit his Royal Lodge home after the King laid off its ten-strong security team. Charles, 75, has told the detail they are no longer needed from the autumn. This weekend he and Andrew are both staying at the Balmoral estate in Scotland as tension over the Duke’s mansion intensifies. The King has been funding private guards at the 31-room Windsor pile since Andrew’s £3million-a-year armed cops were removed in 2022 amid the US sex abuse case.
A Palace insider told The Sun on Sunday last night: “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? They are all working the final weeks of their contract till the end of October. It’s not thought anyone is being lined up to replace them. It isn’t a secret that the King wants him out.”
It is unclear what will happen to the team after they leave.
In May it emerged Charles was turning up the heat on Andy in a stand-off dubbed the “siege of Royal Lodge” — warning his brother’s life will become “increasingly cold and uncomfortable”. Charles could even cut off the £4million a year he pays to keep the Duke afloat.
We’ve heard the “Charles could even cut off the £4 million a year he pays to keep the Duke afloat” line before, and I thought that number was being conflated with Andrew’s private security costs, because how is Andrew getting £4 million a year IN ADDITION to Charles picking up the tab for Andrew’s security? In any case, Charles absolutely loves to cut off his family members’ security as a way to manipulate and control those family members. Charles also loves to go back on his word – I’m sure he made assurances to QEII about Andrew AND Prince Harry. Less than two years after QEII’s passing, Charles has evicted the Sussexes from the home given to them by QEII, and he’s trying to evict Andrew from Royal Lodge (despite his sweetheart-deal lease), and now Andrew is having his security removed. Charles is such a crotchety old king.
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