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The King is to get rid of the Duke of York’s security team, according to multiple reports. Prince Andrew’s private security team has been privately funded by Charles after he lost publicly-funded police protection in 2022.
Members of the security detail have been told their services will not be needed from November, according to The Sun on Sunday. The Mirror, the Express and the Mail are among many other news sites that have reported extensively on the claims.
A palace insider told the newspaper: “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?” Sources added: “It isn’t a secret that the King wants him out.”
Charles and Andrew are reportedly staying at the Balmoral estate in Scotland this weekend. Pressure on Andrew continues to mount after the unsealing of hundreds of pages of court documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
It was reported earlier this year that Andrew refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge into nearby Frogmore Cottage. The duke reportedly signed a 75-year lease on the mansion in 2003.
At the beginning of this year, reports suggested Andrew would have to fund the multi-million-pound security costs at Royal Lodge in order to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park. Legal papers released earlier this year claimed that Epstein’s former housekeeper Juan Alessi alleged the duke had daily massages when he spent “weeks” at the paedophile financier’s Florida home.
Juan Alessi, who worked at Epstein’s Palm Beach residence, said both the duke and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were friends with Epstein and the now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Previous allegations Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre three times when she was 17 including during an orgy resurfaced in the court documents.
He strenuously denies the claims and in 2022 paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil case out of court, saying he never met her. The Metropolitan Police said no new investigation has been launched.
