King Charles fires private security team at Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge mansion: report
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 10-man detail that their contracts would not be renewed in October at the 31-room Royal Lodge, according to the Sun.
“They are all working the final weeks of their contract ’til the end of October. It’s not thought anyone is being lined up to replace them,” a palace insider 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 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 mother, the late 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 the Sun.
The queen had summoned her third child to Windsor Castle in January 2022 as Andrew was in the midst of his sex abuse case in the US.
The security layoff comes in the wake of reports suggesting Andrew has refused to vacate the Royal Lodge for the smaller Frogmore Cottage, the residence that his nephew Prince Harry was forced to leave in June 2023.
Andrew traveled to Scotland on Friday to join his brother and the rest of the royal family at Balmoral Castle.
He will be joined by his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and grandchildren on the Scottish estate, Express.co.uk reported.
Missing from the official guest list were Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
Andrew has been described as a “recluse,” barely leaving Royal Lodge since December.
“Andrew has hardly left Royal Lodge since Christmas, so he’s very much looking forward to getting away with the rest of the family at Balmoral,” a source told the outlet.
“The king is keen for it to be a happy family occasion which will see members of the family come together for just over a week to discuss plans for the future and to unwind.”
