King Charles has fired the security team stationed at Prince Andrew’s longtime lavish mansion as the disgraced royal reportedly refused to “downsize” from the property. Charles told the ten-man detail at Royal Lodge that their contracts would not be renewed in October at the 31-room estate, the Sun reported. “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,” a palace inside told the outlet. “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?” The disgraced Duke of York, 64, has lived at the $38 million Royal Lodge , located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, since 2004 after he signed a 75-year lease agreement the previous year. Andrew has faced eviction from the royal home since his friendship with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light in 2019.
He has also been neglecting payments to maintain the property — which requires an annual $503,000 per year for upkeep, Us Weekly reported in May. The 75-year-old monarch has been paying the private security at Andrew’s home since his $3.8 million Met Police protection was removed when he was stripped of his royal roles by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The King has been paying his younger brother $5.1 million a year to keep him afloat. “It isn’t a secret that the King wants him out,” the insider told t.