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Parlour Games: The Mystery of Prince Andrew’s Funding
The subject of who has stepped in to fund Prince Andrew’s future in the white-stuccoed grandeur of Royal Lodge, Windsor, has been the only one in play for weeks. Despite the revelation that the Duke of York had secured a cash lifeline, the hunt for his mysterious benefactor has consumed London society. Wealthy names from the Middle East to the Russian steppes have been in the frame, but now it seems that some in aristocratic circles believe the Prince’s secret patron is someone far closer to home.
The ‘eviction’ threat is believed to be an elaborate double bluff by the King, and sources close to Andrew say that King Charles has personally cleared his brother’s bills for upkeep and promised his Royal Lodge woes are taken care of, enabling him to stay at the property for the foreseeable future. The question is, why?
Why would the monarch cut through the chaos of Andrew’s finances and social life to salvage his brother’s position in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal? One source close to Andrew suggests the King has opened his private purse on behalf of his brother, and it’s the only option.
The reason is simple: without family, who else would want to fund Andrew’s upkeep? Gone are the days when Middle Eastern moneymen could bail out the Prince, and with wealthy investors giving him a wide berth, his money is likely to come from the Windsors, and with Prince William reluctant to indulge his uncle, enter Charles.
For clarity, another source revealed at a dinner table that the King has personally funded Andrew’s upkeep, assuring us that the funds were not from the public purse but from the monarch’s personal pocket. Is it that Charles is protecting a place that is precious to him, which dates back to his grandmother, the Queen Mother? Could the King’s reasons for financing Andrew be less brotherly than practical?
There’s the argument put forward by the first person to share this claim with me: Charles simply can’t betray his brother. Were this the case, there’s probably a trail leading to the Duchy of Lancaster, the property empire that provides the monarch with their personal wealth. The net surplus of the Lancaster estate was £27.4 million in 2023/24, ample to cover Andrew’s costs.
