Prince Andrew’s financial support from King Charles has been terminated, claims a newly updated royal biography. The Duke of York, who has been facing significant financial challenges

maintaining his 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor, is reportedly losing both his security funding and personal allowance.

Royal biographer Robert Hardman states that the King has instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse to stop these payments, which are said to have cost several million pounds annually. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on these claims, which are being serialized in the Daily Mail.

The BBC had previously reported that King Charles was unwilling to continue subsidizing Prince Andrew indefinitely, but Hardman’s revelations suggest that a definitive decision has now been made. As of now, Prince Andrew has not issued a statement about losing the funding, and with no official spokesperson, he remains publicly silent.

If the claims are accurate, Prince Andrew will need to find alternative ways to cover the expenses of maintaining and securing the Royal Lodge, a historic 19th-century property leased from the Crown Estate. The property’s upkeep is expected to be costly, and possible alternatives, such as moving to the smaller and less expensive Frogmore Cottage—previously occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan—have been suggested.

Financial strain on Prince Andrew comes amid heightened public scrutiny following two recent films—produced by Netflix and Amazon—documenting his controversial 2019 BBC Newsnight interview about his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Since stepping down as a working royal, Prince Andrew has lost military titles and patronages, retreating to a private life at Royal Lodge, a move some commentators have referred to as being “de-royalled.”

According to Hardman, this financial shift may have been in discussion before King Charles’s accession, as the royal family considered how to resolve the 64-year-old prince’s long-term housing and financial situation. The King’s recent actions suggest the culmination of these ongoing discussions.

Although Royal Lodge is leased by Prince Andrew until 2078, he paid significant upfront sums when he began the lease in 2003, including over £7.5 million for renovations and a one-off £2.5 million fee to reduce annual rental payments. Additionally, he paid £1 million to the Crown Estate as recorded by the National Audit Office. There is a clause in his lease agreement that could entitle him to some compensation for these renovations if he leaves before 2028, but this amount decreases each year, making it less attractive for him to vacate the property now.

Despite these financial complications, Hardman’s book quotes a source stating, “The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King.” The updated biography, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, will be released by Macmillan on November 7. Photo by Thorne1983, Wikimedia commons.