Prince Andrew could be forced out of his £30million Windsor home by October after King Charles fired his ten-man private security team,it is claimed.
The Duke of York may have been set an autumn deadline to leave Royal Lodge,the 30-room mansion he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
The ultimatum has come from the monarch,who has long been trying to his disgraced younger brother out of the property with previous reports claiming he wants to rent it out for £1million a year.
However,Andrew has been reluctant to do so,having signed a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate when he moved in in 2003 on condition of making a £1million down payment and paying £260,000-a-year in rent.
There is also the added complication of much-needed repairs to the buildings on the property,some of which have fallen into disrepair and the bill for renovations already rising to £7million.
Andrew signed a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate when he moved to Royal Lodge in 2003. Pictured: The Duke of York riding in Windsor on July 27 this year
But claims emerged last year that Andrew could not meet the £400,000-a-year upkeep of Royal Lodge and it was reported that the duke was told he would have to leave the property.
He was granted 'a stay of execution',it was reported last October,after he did a deal with the King to carry out the repair works on the 19th century,Grade II-listed property.
But in June a friend of the King claimed he had threatened to sever ties with Andrew if the Duke continues to refuse to leave Royal Lodge for his new home in Frogmore Cottage.
While sources close to the King said he is willing to pay for his brother to live comfortably out of his private funds from the Duchy of Lancaster,the level of funding needs to be appropriate.
A friend of the King told The Times: 'Unfortunately,if Andrew refuses to leave within a reasonable time frame,then the King may be forced to reassess the whole package of support he provides and the duke would be required to fund the lion's share of his security,accommodation and lifestyle costs all on his own - which,given the sums involved,is highly unlikely to be possible in the long term.
'Everyone is mindful of his well-being,and has his best interests at heart,but there are limits of patience and tolerance.'
Situated in 98 acres in Windsor Great Park,the property was once known as King's Lodge but its name was changed by the Duke of Cumberland when he became King George IV in 1820.
William IV demolished part of Royal Lodge and,for sixty years,senior members of the Royal Household used it mainly as a 'grace-and-favour' home.
In 1931,King George V gave permission for his son,Prince Albert,the Duke of York,and his wife to take over the property and they moved in the following year.
They used the 30-room Royal Lodge as a private country house,even after they became Duke and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1936.
Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret spent many happy days playing in the grounds and making use of Y Bwthyn Bach - the miniature thatched cottage that was given to the future Queen by the people of Wales to mark her sixth birthday in 1932.
The grounds of Royal Lodge include a gardener's cottage and the Royal Chapel of All Saints,where Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi married in 2020 in a ceremony attended by the late Queen and Prince Philip.
There is also a swimming pool and tennis court.
MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Frogmore CottageJeffrey Epstein
© OfficialAffairs
