He was dethroned as a working royal following his calamitous interview with Newsnight, but Prince Andrew is still reaping the rewards of royal life.
The Duke of York has sparked further controversy after a real Range Rover was fitted with blue emergency lights, despite being stripped of its police protection.
While driving around Windsor or attending lavish lunches with friends at Harry’s Bar, an exclusive members-only club in London’s Mayfair, the disgraced prince noticed he was driving the £100,000 4×4 vehicle.
On those trips, he is accompanied by a personal security guard travelling in a £60,000 Land Rover Discovery fitted with blue emergency lights, prompting questions from Scotland Yard about his “special treatment”, according to the Mail.
After settling a sexual abuse case with accuser Virginia Giuffre in 2022, the 64-year-old was stripped of his public duties and the protection of the taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police.
His armed protective police, believed to be paid £3 million a year, have been replaced by personal security guards, with reports suggesting King Charles would possibly have to foot the bill personally.
The duke, who was removed from public office over his deal with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has reportedly subsidised plans to further reduce his privileges, adding that he left the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
And royal insiders say she’s stubbornly clung to her SAR title, which she can wear privately, while hanging out with wealthy friends like billionaire Johan Eliasch, whom she spotted him with at Harry’s Bar last month ahead of the premiere of the Netflix drama Scoop.
Nigel Cawthorne, of Prince Andrew, Maxwell, Epstein and the Palace, told The Sun: “He’s no longer a royal, but he still privately enjoys the benefits of being one, which understandably sparks public outrage.
“Until recently, we hadn’t seen him apart from riding at Windsor Great Park, so he still has the privilege of owning horses as well.
“He also has his own little golf course there and his charming 30-room mansion. He’s been given a chance to recover there with Fergie. It’s a very comfortable lifestyle.
“He was tasked with sweeping it up and fixing his teddy bears. “
In 2003, Andrew signed a 75-year contract with the Royal Lodge and lives there with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
King Charles reportedly sought to get his younger brother to leave the “magnificent” mansion and move into the more modest Frogmore Cottage; The plans appear to have been quietly shelved.
“It turns out Charles stopped looking for her and sent her to live at Frogmore Cottage,” Nigel says. “Which would be much more appropriate. “
“At one time it existed, but everything has become quiet. Someone has to live in the Royal Lodge, unless they turn it into a boutique hotel.
“But the royal family just needs the Andrew saga to go away. By moving him, Andrew reappears in the press, which rarely helps Charles or anyone else. “
The monarch’s desire for Andrew to reduce his staff came last year alongside plans to cut his annual allowance of £250,000, which in the past had been provided through the belated Queen Elizabeth.
Without his sizable stipend, Andrew would not be able to fund the upkeep of the 98-acre estate, where the paintings required prices of around £2 million.
“It’s going to be for him,” Nigel says.
“He’s used to living a lavish, all-expense lifestyle; like Fergie, who still enjoys the privilege of living at the Royal Lodge, she is not in a studio near an electric fireplace and a cat, but also feels very comfortable.
“They don’t have to pay rent, which is a big help, but I’m sure they can turn to a local Lidl if times get tough. “
“Apart from his annual pension of £20,000 in the navy, he doesn’t have many sources of income and lives off his brother, who I’m sure he wouldn’t possibly starve him to, and he has very rich friends, a lunch at Harry’s Bar. Possibly it wouldn’t be cheap.
Nigel tells how Prince Andrew has a long history of “collaborating” with wealthy friends who have allowed him to continue to enjoy the best life.
He says: “In addition to Epstein bowing to him, there is David Rowland, who resigned as treasurer of the Conservative Party after doubts about his competitive tactics.
“He is the founder of the Luxembourg bank Banque Havilland, which gave Andrew a £1. 5 million private loan in 2017.
The royal family just wants Andrew’s saga to go away. When she is moved, Andrew appears again in the press.
In 2001, Andrew photographed aboard a yacht owned by Swedish millionaire Johan Eliasch, surrounded by topless beauties.
“Then Kazakh oligarch Timur Kulibayev, who bought Sunninghill Park for £3 million above the asking price. “
Last month, billionaire sports mogul Johan Eliasch and Andrew were photographed leaving Harry’s Bar in Mayfair, fuelling speculation that the cash-strapped prince was contemplating starting a new venture.
Meanwhile, he reported earlier this month that Sunninghill Park had remained empty since it underwent a multimillion-dollar reconstruction two years ago, with neighbors describing the site as a “pain in the eyes. “
Andrew would continue to use his HRH name after the vanquished Queen gave him permission to use it privately after being stripped of his military names and royal patronage.
“He doesn’t give things up lightly, as we’ve seen in his behavior,” Nigel continues. “He’s more of an arrogant soul, he probably wouldn’t miss any opportunity to use the SAR title.
“After all, it’s the only thing he has now. It has no credibility, otherwise, it will have to be an empty life to be part of the royal circle of relatives and not be able to faint and cut ribbons, plant trees, and put up plaques. All those exciting things that members of the royal circle of relatives do.
He is an arrogant soul and will lose any opportunity to use his RHS name.
The pampered Prince still owns a fleet of expensive cars, plus an £80,000 Range Rover Sport Phev he bought in December 2022; He hasn’t been seen there much since.
Despite being stripped of its royal protections that same year, the green hybrid has tinted windows and a personal plaque bearing the duke’s royal title.
He is said to own 3 “Chelsea tractors” with traditional license plates and a Bentley.
In 2021, she saw him taking those 3 SUVs in a convoy from Windsor to Scotland for a holiday at Balmoral.
“Other than this trip, it doesn’t look like I’m traveling much right now,” Nigel continues.
“He’s known as Air Miles Andy, but I’m not sure there are many countries that need to see him. “
Prince Andrew’s reputation is irretrievably shattered and he will never be able to return to public life, according to one of Britain’s biggest PR gurus.
Nick Ede, a brand and culture expert who runs public relations firm East of Eden, called the embarrassed royal a “duped” into thinking he would one day return to royal duties and suggested he give up and “enjoy his life” in exile.
This follows the release of Scoop, a Netflix film about the 2019 interview he gave to Newsnight.
Nick said: “There’s no back for him.
“I think you know that perpetual concept that he’ll still be back. No one cares. He has no fans.
“No one says, ‘We need to see Prince Andrew,’ not even a single person. I think he wants to be aware of that. But I think it’s going to take you a long time to figure it out. This is very misleading.
“In my opinion, what you can do is just enjoy life. He has awesome daughters. He has a wonderful relationship with Fergie, he has a wonderful house.
“Just a quiet life. »
Reflecting on the interview five years ago, after which Andrew abandoned his royal duties “for the foreseeable future,” Nick mentioned the consequences of Frost opposing Nixon and said he would have suggested that he not do so.
He said, “If I had pleaded with him, I would have said, close, close, go to the ground. You know you’re a prince. Enjoy the life you lead, but don’t open Pandora’s box. Because that’s what it’s all about.
“It wasn’t acceptable that a date with someone like Epstein was extraordinarily toxic. It wasn’t known that there were trafficked types whose lives had been completely ruined through Epstein. He didn’t seem to think that his agreement with this guy was anything but positive.
“I think his worst mistake was being in that interview and accepting it in the first place, not knowing that he was going to be interviewed through a very, very smart journalist who was going to ask him questions that maybe he wouldn’t like. . .
“But I think what he did shows how archaic Prince Andrew is in his criticisms and thoughts.
“Read the play. He’s read a play. “
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