Andrew’s mystery £3m lifeline to stay in Royal Lodge should be revealed with his questionable pals

THE source of PrinceAndrew s 3 million lifeline that means he can now stay in 30-room Royal Lodge should be revealed, claim royal experts.

According to royal pros, thedisgraced Duke of York, 64,was desperate to stay at his publicly owned home after King Charles cut his allowance, but there is now new controversy over who his secretbenefactoris.

On this week s episode of Royal Exclusive, Matt Wilkinson, The Sun s Royal Editor, was joined byNews.com.au s Royal ReporterBronte CoyandKatie Nicholl, Vanity Fair s Royal Correspondent, to discussAndrew s Royal Lodge saga.

According to Matt: This saga has been going on for a long time but one of the main issues is him at the Royal Lodge.

We now know thatPrinceAndrew s money has been taken away, his Annual Allowance by the King, he has removed it.

We don t know where this money s come from. Do you think we should know how Andrew has secured money to remain in the Royal Lodge?

Prince Andrew s home, Royal Lodge, is a 30million 19th century listed Windsor pad that he shares with his ex-wifeSarah Ferguson.

It was where the lateQueen Elizabethspent part of her childhood and boasts 40 hectares of woodland and lawns, eight cottages, and lodgings for security personnel.

But Andrew, who moved into Royal Lodge, the former home ofthe Queen Mother, in 2004 – has refused to move, after taking on a lease that lasts until 2078.

Charles, 75, is said to have wanted Andrew out of the house for years, but after Andrew lost his annual 3million-a-year hand-out from the King, which funded guards at Windsor s Royal Lodge, Bronte explained: My feeling on this is, look, he s out of royal duties now, so there s a degree that he can go about his life as long as it s above the line.

With that said, he has incredibly bad form in the past with choosing his associates and given his proximity to a lot of influence, he has people s ear, whether or not they listen is a whole other thing, but he is in the royal circle, so the fact there is suddenly 3million, or something thereabouts, being given to him, apparently indefinitely, to fund him, is it just a one way generous offer?

Bronte explained that the mystery behind the 3million handout should be revealed, as a result of his questionable pals.

She questioned: Is it for a set period of time? Is there something Andrew is going to do in return?

I think information like that is what s making people nervous because as I said, he s got very, very questionable taste when it comes tochoosing who he will align himself with.

Also at a point where he s been stripped of all of his funding, any kind of lifeline, especially one of this size, you would assume would ve been jumped at.

He s desperate to stay in Royal Lodge.

Following this, Katie agreed: He doesn t wanna leave, the King s not gonna kick him out because they re brothers after all.

Royal finances are complicated but essentially it comes down to the public expenditure and then the private expenditure.

The public expenditure, there’s a great level of transparency around, we know how it s spent.

But when it comes to the private finances, it is much much harder to get into that and clearly,Prince Andrewis not a poor person.

He s got inheritance from his father, from his mother and I would imagine he s probably having to dip into that to stay at Royal Lodge because quite rightly so the King has cut off that financial tap, as he did forPrince Harry, because Andrew is no longer a working member of the royal family. That could never have gone on indefinitely.

I think the problem for Charles is Andrew doesn’t want to leave Royal Lodge, it s where he lives withFergie, he s digging his heels in, and he ll stay for as long as he can afford to stay.

And obviously there is money that he is able to use.

Matt added: I m just very nervous, I m trying to find out where this money is coming from.

To this, Bronte agreed: I think with Andrew, people are very nervous.

I think there should be a little more reassurance from an official source, maybe not unmasking whoever the person is, but more reassurance that it s come from somewhere people will be comfortable with.

The Vanity Fair Royal Correspondent then added: “Because if there isn t that puts the King in a very difficult position.

And then you ve got the proximity of Andrew, the sort of black sheep of the family, it s not an easy position for the King to be in.

But now, The Sun has revealed that Andrew has negotiated a cheaper protection deal at his leased home which he refuses to leave.

His plan is believed to be bankrolled byMiddle Eastmoney.

DaughtersBeatrice and Eugeniehave addressed conferences inSaudi ArabiaandAbu Dhabi.

A source said: He has his security but at a cheaper rate and he is managing to finance it himself.

“He has dug his heels in and is refusing to move so found a way to finance his security.

How sustainable in the long term, then who knows how long he can do it for.

Author Andrew Lownie, who is penning a shock book on the prince, said: Prince Andrew is likely to have many forms of income.

It comes after news last week thatAndrew had shown Palace officials that he has the required fundsto maintain upkeep of the 30-room mansion.

And Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the privy purse, approved the money as coming from legitimate sources,The Timesreported.

It s no wonder that eyebrows are being raised over how Andrew can afford his upkeep, given he was stripped of his status after becoming embroiled in a scandal due to his association with the late paedophileJeffrey Epstein.

He was accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre and handed over millions to settle the case against him – although he has always vehemently protested his innocence and insisted he never even met her.

Andrew appeared on BBC current affairs showNewsnight for a now infamous interviewwithEmily Maitlisin November 2019.

While Andrew initially believedhis BBC interviewhad gone ‘quite well , millions of TV viewers thought otherwise.

Following a massive backlash, the Duke announced he would ‘step back from public duties.

Andrew said in his statement: It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.

Therefore, I have askedHer Majestyif I may step back from public duties for the foreseeablefuture, and she has given her permission.

Now, Andrew is now said to live a rather reclusive existence – spending his days playing golf, riding and watching television behind the walls of his estate – the refuge he is said to be desperate to hang on to.