Prince Andrew is reported to have been left “bewildered” by the refusal of King Charles to distribute among other members of the Royal Family the wealth left to him by the Queen. Her entire estate, thought to be worth in the region of £650million, was left solely to her eldest son and heir.
Sources at the Palace have suggested the disgraced Duke of York is unhappy that the King has so far kept hold of the fortune, meaning neither he nor the Queen’s other children have received any of it. A friend of the Duke of York told the Mail: “Andrew is in despair. He’s been left completely in the dark. Andrew’s a member of the family, for God’s sake, yet he had no idea this was coming.
“What’s he meant to do? Go cap in hand to his older brother to keep a roof over his head? Things are going from bad to worse. It’s a disaster.” The money is said to have passed from monarch to monarch from a decision made in 1993, meaning that no inheritance tax would be paid on it.
It came as it was also reported in The Mirror that King Charles was alleged to have refused to continue a £32,000 annual payment for Prince Andrew's "healing guru". The Duke reportedly submitted the claim to the Privy Purse as a royal expense having sought the help of a yoga teacher.
However, the claim has reportedly not been signed off by the King , who is said to have told Andrew that the payment would have to met from his own income. It is thought that the 63-year-old Duke had been using the Indian yogi for a number of years and helped with his chanting, massages and holistic therapy in the privacy of his mansion.
According to The Sun, the healer has enjoyed month-long stays at the £30million Royal Lodge in Windsor. Prince Andrew's claim submitted to the Privy Purse followed years of the Queen signing off his expenses.
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However, Charles, who became King in September following the Queen's death, is scrutinising expenses claims, having now been handed control on the Duchy of Lancaster’s annual £24million income. The source said: “While the Queen was always happy to indulge her son over the years, Charles is far less inclined to fund such indulgences, particularly in an era of a cost-of-living crisis.
“Families are struggling and would rightly baulk at the idea of tens of thousands paid to an Indian guru to provide holistic treatment to a non-working royal living in his grace and favour mansion. This time the King saw the bill for the healer submitted by Andrew to the Privy Purse and thought his brother was having a laugh."
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