King axes disgraced Duke's security team as pressure mounts on Prince Andrew to leave Royal Lodge mansion
18 August 2024, 07:32 | Updated: 18 August 2024, 08:41
Prince Andrew is under increasing pressure to leave his Royal Lodge home after reports the King has laid off the Duke of York's security team.
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Andrew's private security has been privately funded by Charles after he lost publicly-funded police protection in 2022 amid allegations of sexual assault.
But members of the security detail have been told their services will not be needed from November, according to The Sun on Sunday.
A palace insider told the newspaper: "Everyone is speculating this means the duke will have to leave the Royal Lodge because what other reason could there be to take his security away?
Sources added: "It isn't a secret that the King wants him out."
Earlier this year, it was reported Andrew refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge into nearby Frogmore Cottage after signing a 75-year lease on the mansion in 2003.
In January, reports suggested Andrew would have to fund the multi-million-pound security costs at Royal Lodge himself if he wanted to stay in the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.
Both Charles and Andrew are staying at the Balmoral estate in Scotland this weekend, the Sun has reported.
Pressure has mounted on Andrew following the unsealing of hundreds of pages of court documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The legal papers detailed how Epstein's former housekeeper Juan Alessi claimed the duke had daily massages when he spent "weeks" at the paedophile financier's Florida home.
Juan Alessi, who worked at Epstein's Palm Beach residence, said the duke and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were friends with Epstein and the now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Previous allegations Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre three times when she was 17 including during an orgy resurfaced in the court documents.
Andrew strenuously denies the claims and in 2022 paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle a civil case out of court, saying he never met her.
The Metropolitan Police said no new investigation has been launched.
