King Charles is said to be “losing patience” over Prince Andrew‘s palatial living arrangements and is keen for him to be relocated to a smaller property.
The Duke of York currently lives at 30-room mansion Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, with whom he shares daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.
The duke stepped back from public duties in 2019 amid a scandal over his friendship with disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein but has insisted on staying in the mansion.
The King is reportedly keen to “solve” what those close to the monarch have dubbed “the Andrew problem” by moving the 64-year-old duke into different accommodation.
Prince Andrew’s publicly-funded police protection was removed in 2022 following a review by the Home Office.
He has since been guarded by a private security team funded privately by the King, at a reported cost of around £3million a year.
It was previously reported that the King was considering scrapping this security arrangement.
According to The Times, the King has now made clear to his younger brother that “only two possible options” remain.
The first would involve Andrew remaining at Royal Lodge, but funding his multi-million-pound security costs himself. The King would also withdraw the living allowance he provides to Andrew, according to The Times, leaving Andrew to fund his expenses through his own private means.
The other would see Andrew move to “more suitable accommodation”.
Nearby Frogmore Cottage is understood to be the property King Charles has in mind for the duke.
The residence was previously home to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before they moved to the US, and lies within the Windsor estate’s security cordon.
The King, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, would reportedly be happy to continue providing Andrew with an allowance should he and the Duchess of York move to Frogmore Cottage. But earlier this year it was reported Andrew, 64, refused an offer to move there.
The duke was said to have signed a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge in 2003.
“It is now two years into the King’s reign and he wants the matter settled,” a source told The Times.
Prince Andrew was cast out of the working monarchy after Virginia Giuffre, who was trafficked by paedophile Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
The Duke has always strenuously denied the claims.
In 2022, he paid a reported £12 million to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil US lawsuit out of court, saying he never met her.
Next week, a new three-part drama is set to air, which dramatises the Duke of York’s bombshell Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.
The disastrous grilling in 2019 saw Andrew publicly address allegations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Epstein, as he tried to clear his name.
The three-episode Prime Video, A Very Royal Scandal, series sees Maitlis played by actress Ruth Wilson, and Good Omens actor Michael Sheen as the duke, and premieres on September 19.
Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties in 2019 in the wake of the “car crash” Newsnight interview.
In a statement Andrew said it had become clear to him that his friendship with the late billionaire convicted paedophile had caused "major disruption" to the Royal Family's work, and said he regretted his “ill-judged association with with Jeffrey Epstein”. Epstein took his own life in prison earlier in 2019, while facing sex trafficking charges.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
