Prince Andrew is said to be struggling about having an uncertain future.
Sources told British royals expert Hilary Fordwich that the disgraced Duke of York is trying to stay hidden in the shadows to avoid further humiliation. The UK’s DailyMail recently reported that the 64-year-old has been tending to the gardens of his palatial Royal Lodge home to pinch pennies.
Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital that Prince Andrew is embarrassed after the UK’s Daily Mail reported that he’s been tending to his own garden to pinch pennies. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“Prince Andrew has voiced, to friends, he’s embarrassed [by] his situation,” Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital. “The declining disrepair and decay… of his residence has become a spectacle, a visual reflection of the broader fallout from his despicable involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and further fall from royal favor.”
Fordwich claimed that King Charles III was determined to keep his scandal-ridden brother on the sidelines as he prioritized the crown and its senior working members.
“The definite is that for Andrew, there is no return to being a major royal figure, nor even being part of the family ever,” she shared. “He is, deservedly so, a much-diminished man.”
Prince Andrew has been attempting to keep a low profile. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)
Royal expert Ian Pelham Turner compared “The Firm” to a horse race – and it’s easy to see who continues to fall behind.
“William and Kate [are] in sight of the winning post with Charles and Camilla hot on their heels,” Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. “Andrew is far behind choking in the dust.”
The Sunday Times previously reported that the monarch instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse to remove his younger sibling’s $1.3 million annual personal allowance and to stop paying for his security.
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According to reports, Prince Andrew was Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite son. (Getty Images)
Insiders claimed to the Daily Mail that Andrew’s 30-room mansion is surrounded by shrubbery and woodland, as the flowers that once bloomed are nowhere to be seen.
“Even Andrew’s former golf partners have distanced themselves from him,” Fordwich claimed. “It’s another reason he’s turned to gardening and riding just to get outside.”
“King Charles III wants to further modernize the monarchy, reduce costs, and downsize, including ousting Andrew, [who’s] biding his time,” she added.
“The definite is that for Andrew, there is no return to being a major royal figure, nor even being part of the family ever. He is, deservedly so, a much-diminished man.”
According to royal experts, King Charles III’s relationship with his younger brother Prince Andrew has soured. (Dan Kitwood/Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Andrew has been a constant source of tabloid fodder because of his money woes and links to questionable characters, including the late American financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Before she died in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II stripped Andrew of his royal duties and charity roles. More recently, Charles has tried to persuade his brother to cut his expenses by leaving his sprawling royal estate and moving to the smaller Frogmore Cottage, which is located inside the security perimeter of Windsor Castle. But Andrew remains ensconced at Royal Lodge.
King Charles III ascended to the throne upon the death of his mother. Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 2022 at age 96. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“Andrew signed a Crown Estate 75-year lease for the property in 2003,” Fordwich explained. “[But] his relationship with King Charles is strained, to say the least, and even worse with Prince William.”
“He has been sidelined from all royal duties,” said Fordwich. “Neither wants further scandals nor negative attention to detract from the dignity and reputation of the monarchy. [They] have tried to publicly [remain] cordial by inviting Andrew to a few family gatherings.”
“… Andrew has been seen toiling in his garden with sweat glands working now,” said Pelham Turner.
He noted that the prince should focus on “planting some olive branches for older brother Charles.”
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British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed that Prince Andrew’s golfing buddies have distanced themselves from him. (Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images)
After 22 years in the Royal Navy, including combat operations as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War, Andrew was named Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment in 2001. However, he was forced to step down in 2019 amid growing concern about his friendship with Epstein.
In November, The Sunday Times reported that Andrew, who was at risk of eviction after his allowance was cut, managed to raise the money he needed to continue staying at Royal Lodge.
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According to the outlet, the funds were approved by the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, as coming from legitimate sources.
Andrew’s annual rent is a reported $337,000. The property requires an estimated $503,000 annually for upkeep.
“I have to give it to Andrew – he is a trier when it comes to surviving,” said Pelham Turner.
Prince Andrew resides in Royal Lodge with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
He suggested that Andrew should use his new green thumb and team up with Sarah Ferguson to start “a line of homemade jams.” The duke resides in Royal Lodge with his ex-wife.
“Will this improve the feuding with his brother?” said Pelham Turner. “The garden at Highgrove [the king’s private residence] is said to be immaculate. It’s one of the king’s favorite places to relax. Perhaps the fruit of new fortune may blossom.”
Charlotte Griffiths, the Mail on Sunday’s editor-at-large, originally reported in November that it was the monarch who was secretly paying for Andrew’s rent. According to reports, the king promised his late mother that he would look after her favorite son after she died.
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King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla were crowned in May 2023. (Getty Images)
England’s longest-reigning monarch passed away in 2022 at age 96.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” agreed with Griffiths’ scoop. She believes there’s a good reason why the king would still be coughing up the bill for his younger brother, even though several royal experts claimed to Fox News Digital that the relationship between Charles and Andrew had soured.
Prince Andrew at the funeral of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
“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 previously 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.”
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” believes King Charles III secretly paid Prince Andrew’s rent. (Getty Images)
“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.”
“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.”
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To many royal experts, the Duke of York has no future in royal life. (Reuters/Chris Radburn/File Photo)
Sources claimed to the editor that not only did Charles handle the finances, but none of the funds came from taxpayer money.
Seward noted that Andrew, who had always lived in “a very grand home,” had refused to leave Royal Lodge.
“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.’”
Frogmore Cottage was the former U.K. home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (Getty Images)
Seward stressed rigorous upkeep – and plenty of funds – are required to keep the royal property in tip-top shape.
“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.'”
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Prince Andrew is shown on board HMS Invincible during the Falklands War, where he served as a helicopter pilot. (© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
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.”
Prince Andrew stepped down from public life in 2019. (Reuters/Neil Hall )
“There’s an old-fashioned expression, which is ‘hoist with your own petard,’ which means you’re strangled by your wishes,” Seward added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.