Prince Andrew has been thrown out of Buckingham Palace by King Charles, according to reports.
A source has said that the Duke of York will no longer have an office there or be allowed to use it as a corresponding address. As reported by the Mirror, it is currently unclear what will happen to the staff in his office at the palace.
After the 62-year-old stepped down from public duties following the fallout from his disastrous BBC interview with Emily Maitlis, where he was questioned about his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, skeleton staff have still remained. Andrew paid millions to settle a US civil case brought by his accuser Virginia Giuffre earlier this year.
Andrew is reportedly recruiting a new communication team and will be expected to foot the bill in an effort to repair what is left of his reputation.
A source told The Sun: “Any presence at the Palace is officially over. The King has made it clear. He isn’t a working royal. He’s on his own.”
It is believed that Andrew will keep the 31-bed Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. It comes days after Andrew's older brother is said to be shouldering the costs of his security.
The Duke will lose the privilege of protection from the Met Police which is paid for by the public as he does not perform royal duties.
The Telegraph reported that private security will take over the disgraced prince’s protection instead at a cost of around £3 million a year which is believed to be paid for by the monarch.
Norman Baker, former Home Office minister and Privy Council member, previously told how “armed protection has always been a status symbol for the likes of Prince Andrew."
He added: “Of course, he should pay it himself and not burden the taxpayer because he is a private individual and carries out no public duties. People like David Beckham pay for their own security so why shouldn’t Prince Andrew?"
He added: “We shouldn’t pay for Andrew’s or Harry’s security or any member of the Royal Family that carries out no public duties.”
Last week, it was reported that Prince Andrew sold his Swiss ski chalet for £19 million after more than a year of complications over 'business debt'. The chalet in Verbier in Switzerland was bought by a British family amid a year of wrangling over a "business debt" of £1.6 million.
Andrew put the property up for sale in 2020 amid mounting legal costs relating to the civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre brought the civil case alleging that Andrew had forced her to have sex with him on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17 years old. Andrew denied the claims but ultimately agreed to a settlement which was rumoured to be worth around £9.8 million.
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