By Victoria Ward | Deputy Royal Editor
The King has heaped further pressure on the Duke of York by axing his ten-strong private security team, it has emerged.
It means that Prince Andrew will be forced to find millions of pounds to fund future security operations at Royal Lodge, his Windsor home, if he wants to avoid eviction.
The security guards have been told their services will no longer be required from the autumn, according to reports.
A source told the Sun on Sunday: “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.”
The Telegraph revealed in January that the King was prepared to withdraw the private funding he ploughs into the security operation in what has become an increasingly bitter standoff over the future of Royal Lodge.
However, at the time, the Duke did not believe his elder brother would be so unkind, it is understood.
His determination to remain at the home, which he also shares with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, has proved an increasing bone of contention.
Having been stripped of his patronages and duties as a working member of the Royal family, it is considered too vast a property for someone befitting his new status.
Attempts to relocate him to the much smaller Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor property that until recently the Duke and Duchess of Sussex called home, have so far proved unsuccessful.
The Duke is said to be determined to bequeath the lease on Royal Lodge to his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
But by insisting he pay for his own security, Buckingham Palace courtiers know they may force his hand.
In May, one palace source warned: “As things stand, life at Royal Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the Duke.”
Weeks later, a source said the move could either be accomplished “with grace and dignity or it can be forced upon him”.
The latest salvo will all but force the beleaguered Duke out of the vast, 30-room property unless he can conjure up a small fortune. He has no discernible income and the house is in need of extensive repairs.
The Duke’s lease gives him the right to live in the Grade II-listed property until 2078. But the contract includes a clause that he must maintain it to an appropriate standard.
The terms of the 75-year lease agreement with the Crown Estate, which was signed in 2003 and expires in 2079, requires the Duke to repaint the house every five years and also to “repair, renew, uphold, clean and keep in repair and where necessary rebuild” the property.
One source previously insisted that he would not be evicted “so long as he can fulfil his contractual obligations”.
The disgraced Duke stepped down from royal duties in 2019 following a disastrous Newsnight interview in which he failed to express regret over his former friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex offender.
He later paid several million pounds to settle a civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, who claimed he had abused her, although he did not admit liability.
The Duke has consistently denied all charges, but the King has remained adamant that he will not be permitted to reprise any of his public roles.
Prince Andrew’s own finances have long remained opaque, seemingly structured around a string of secretive business dealings.
The Duke’s office could not be contacted for comment. Buckingham Palace said it did not comment on security matters.
Source: The Telegraph
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