King Charles is said to be extending a generous olive branch to his scandal-plagued sibling.
Charlotte Griffiths, the Mail on Sunday’s editor-at-large, claimed that the monarch is the secret source who paid Prince Andrew’s rent, allowing the disgraced Duke of York to stay at his palatial Royal Lodge home.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of "My Mother and I," agrees with Griffiths’ scoop. Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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"There’s absolutely no doubt that Charles is the one who is providing the money for Andrew because the [late] queen wouldn’t have left Andrew bereft," Seward explained to Fox News Digital.
"She would’ve made a provision for him, and maybe that provision came through his elder brother as monarch," she shared. "When the king dies or the queen dies, the money goes to the next monarch. Everything goes to the next monarch. So, she either would have made provisions for Andrew before she died, or she would’ve made provisions through Charles."
"I believe that Charles is helping him," Seward continued. "I don’t see who else would. I’m sure [Andrew’s ex-wife] Fergie would help him. I know Fergie does very well with her books, but I [can’t] imagine she would make enough to run Royal Lodge on her own."
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"… I certainly think that the only person who could really be doing this is either monies from the queen or monies from the king," she said.
Griffiths claimed that, according to "multiple sources," the king "has personally cleared his errant brother’s bills for his upkeep and promised his Royal Lodge woes would be taken care of, enabling him to stay there for the foreseeable future."
The editor also claimed that someone at a "glamorous — and usually ultra-discreet — dinner table" told her that "Charles has paid for it all."
"The King has cleared it. It's all done," the source claimed.
The palace insider, "who's been a guest at Royal Lodge in years gone by," claimed that not only did Charles handle the finances, but none of the funds came from taxpayer money.
The Sunday Times previously reported that Andrew, 64, raised enough money to live in Royal Lodge. The estate is worth a reported $38 million. According to the outlet, the prince's funds were approved by the Keeper of the Privy Purse as coming from "legitimate sources."
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"The Duke of York, or Prince Andrew as we like to call him, always lived in a palace," said Seward. "He was in the navy, yes, but apart from being in the navy, he’s always lived in a palace. He lived in Buckingham Palace, and then his home was Royal Lodge, which is a very grand home – and he doesn’t want to leave it."
"I think King Charles… said to him, ‘Andrew, it would be so much better if you moved out of Royal Lodge and moved into Frogmore Cottage… because it’s been modernized inside. It’s been beautifully done up. It’s easy to run. It’s not expensive to run. And you’re within the security of the Windsor Castle compound, so it’s not going to cost millions in security. But Andrew said, ‘No, I want to stay here.’"
Seward noted that funding to maintain Royal Lodge includes maintaining over 30 rooms and over 50 acres of gardens.
"It’s not just a little house in the middle of nowhere," said Seward. "It is huge and therefore needs a lot of upkeep. But I think that there’s no way he and Charles would’ve had a row about it because Charles isn’t like that."
"He wouldn’t have said, 'You’ve got to get out,'" Seward insisted. "He would’ve suggested why it would be easier to get out. And Andrew said, ‘No, I want to stay.’ So, Charles said, ‘Fine, but I’m going to have to remove this very expensive security, and we’ll need to find an alternative.'"
It's also believed that Charles tried to use a loophole to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge.
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According to the Sunday Times, the king, 76, would have covered his brother’s living expenses if he moved into Frogmore Cottage, the former U.K. home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. After Andrew reportedly refused to downsize, the king axed his allowance.
Andrew has been living on the estate since 2004. He resides there with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
According to reports, he has spent over $9 million on repairs and renovations and $1 million to take it over. His annual rent is a reported $337,000. The property requires an estimated $503,000 annually for upkeep.
The Sunday Times reported that the king didn’t renew the contract for Andrew’s private security team. The monarch was paying for Andrew’s security after the prince lost his police protection in 2022. The security team is said to cost Charles nearly $4 million annually.
At the time, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told Fox News Digital the palace wouldn’t comment on "security matters."
"The Crown Estate would’ve loved to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge because they could rent the whole thing," said Seward. "It needs to be seen as making money. And as long as Andrew lives in Royal Lodge, that’s preventing them from making as much [money] as they could. It’s just too bad that he is the late queen’s second son."
While the duke secured a real estate win, Seward noted, "I don’t think the future holds anything for Prince Andrew."
"He has to do something, but for the last five years he’s been doing absolutely nothing," she said.
"… If he was my son, I’d say, ‘I’m going to give you a beautiful farm in Scotland. Go up there and go into farming and just disappear from life as we know it.’ You can still have a wonderful life, but Andrew doesn’t want to do that."
"There’s an old-fashioned expression, which is ‘hoist with your own petard,’ which means you’re strangled by your wishes," Seward added.
But Andrew isn’t alone.
Hello! Magazine reported that his two daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, have been "taking turns" spending weekends with him and bringing their children "to boost his spirits."
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"They are spending far more time with him now than they have done in recent years," a source claimed to the outlet. "They are quite close to their father; they seem to be quite protective towards him."
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that Andrew has attempted to keep a low profile at Royal Lodge.
"Family and the few friends he has left have been incredibly worried about his fragile state and well-being," she claimed, adding that the prince had been "isolated."
"His one savior is his immediate family," she said. "… He has a revived sense of energy and purpose through his grandchildren. He’s even been spotted teaching his 3-year-old granddaughter, Sienna, how to ride horses. This will bring him great joy, especially as his mother, the late queen, enjoyed riding horses at the same age."
Chard also claimed that the king, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, "has put any animosity between himself and Prince Andrew [behind]" by extending an invitation to Sandringham. The country retreat is where the royals gather every year to celebrate Christmas.
"For the time being, it seems Prince Andrew has the suitable funds to continue living at Royal Lodge," she said. "… [We] will continue to ask questions and piece fragmented pieces of the jigsaw together."
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 after his Newsnight interview.
During the disastrous televised sit-down, he attempted to address his connection to late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles.
A lawsuit filed in 2020 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who settled with Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
