King Charles Is "Frustrated" with Prince Andrew Amid Mysterious Financial Support

King Charles and Prince Andrew’s feud over Royal Lodge took a backseat during the holidays as the monarch entertained 45 family members at Sandringham, but according to royal experts, the drama is far from over. Back in November, Prince Andrew was able to flout his big brother’s eviction attempts–which included cutting off his allowance and private security–by raising the over 3 million pounds needed to stay at his longtime home. However, King Charles is reportedly “frustrated” with Andrew amid questions over the mysterious source of his funding.

Shortly before Christmas, Andrew was forced to weather another scandal after he was linked to a businessman who turned out to be a Chinese spy. Charles had extended an olive branch before the news broke with an invite to Sandringham, but the “furious” monarch reportedly banned the disgraced royal from attending his pre-Christmas lunch in London as well as the Christmas festivities in Norfolk. With the renewed scrutiny on Andrew, the Crown is starting to examine how the Duke of York was able to come up with the money needed to stay at the 31-room estate that he shares with ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.

Without the help of money from the Sovereign Grant, the cost of staying at Royal Lodge is extensive. Every year, Andrew would have to pay for the over 3 million pounds of private security on his own dime, as well as the approximately $320,000 of repairs to keep the “crumbling” estate going. While The Sunday Times previously reported that Andrew was able to raise the money that he needed, it is unknown exactly how and where he got the cash.

Royal commentator Gareth Russell told GB News that in light of Prince Andrew’s most recent security scandal, this mystery has left King Charles “frustrated.”

"There's a great deal of mystery; whether he's told the king or not. Certainly, the King has made it very clear what he wanted to happen,” he explained, per Express. Russell believes that it’ll only be a matter of time before King Charles looks into the source of Andrew’s newfound funds, "but at the minute, I think it's very clear to all of us that the King is quite frustrated with the way this has played out."

While Prince Andrew has yet to come clean about who is bankrolling his continued residence at Royal Lodge, the Times report revealed, "It is understood that Prince Andrew’s money has been approved by Sir Michael Stevens, the keeper of the privy purse, as coming from legitimate sources.” It has also been reported that the Duke of York’s daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, as well as Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, have been enlisted to help the disgraced royal refurbish his home.

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