Prince Andrew's reported standoff with King Charles III over maintaining the use of a large mansion near Windsor Castle is "doomed" according to a prominent royal author, after the monarch has reportedly cut the funding of the private security detail protecting the property.
Andrew currently lives at the palatial Royal Lodge residence, located at the edge of Windsor Great Park, though notably outside of the round-the-clock secured police perimeter covering Windsor Castle and properties in its immediate vicinity.
A 2023 biography of Charles revealed that Queen Elizabeth II privately funded a security team to protect Royal Lodge which Andrew moved into after the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.
Andrew does not receive full-time state-funded bodyguards, and is no longer a working member of the royal family, having stepped down from his official roles and losing his honorary patronages amidst criticism of his former friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a sexual assault lawsuit filed in the U.S. by Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.
Andrew has strongly denied Giuffre's claims and settled her lawsuit out of court in 2022. Since then, Andrew's residency at Royal Lodge, which he shares with ex-wife Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, has remained a regular topic of debate in the press.
Andrew purchased a private lease of the property from the Crown Estate in 2002. This body manages the property portfolio associated with the monarchy, the revenue of which is collected by the government.
Following the new development with Charles' reported security funding withdrawal, veteran royal biographer Robert Jobson has claimed that Andrew is being pushed closer to a surrender of the property, as a new tenant could be easily found.
"The reality is, it sounds little, doesn't it? The 'Royal Lodge'. But it's a palatial place with masses of bedrooms, there's only Andrew and Fergie that live there, so there's no real need for Andrew, he's not a working royal anymore, to have this place," Jobson told the Australian morning show, Sunrise, on Wednesday.
"Charles has been trying to get him out for some time. He got a great big long lease from the late queen and has been holding that over his brother's head. But the truth is, he can't really afford to live there.
"The roof's falling in and the king reckons, I suppose, that if he can get his brother out, he can actually rent the place out to some billionaire or somebody else that would actually bring in a lot of money to the royal coffers. So, I think that Andrew's pretty much doomed and he's probably going to have to get out of there."
The author notes that other properties could be offered to Andrew which would eliminate the need for a special and costly extension of a private security detail
"I think he's been offered Harry's old place at Frogmore Cottage but has been holding out against that for some time, so its been a bit of a standoff but his security team getting...if that's been taken away, it leaves Andrew in a bit of a invidious position," he said, referring to the home in close proximity to Windsor Castle, covered by the existing police ring, which was formerly the home of Harry and Meghan Markle.
"[The King] is trying to make the properties owned by the monarchy a little bit more cost effective and this would be one way of doing it," he added, in reference to the potential for new tenants paying higher rents being found.
Newsweek has approached Buckingham Palace via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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