Royal author claims Queen Elizabeth planned to force Prince Andrew to downsize

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II shook the United Kingdom to the core. Indeed, the woman who had reigned over the country for more than 70 years did not retire and she died while doing her duty, as she called it. Since her funeral in 2022, many people have claimed to know what had been going on inside the royal palace in the days leading up to her death.

This time, royal expert Robert Hardman is releasing a new tell-all biography of King Charles, in which he claims Queen Elizabeth had secret plans for two three members of the Firm. Here's what you should know.

Queen Elizabeth II planned to force Prince Andrew to downsize

Acclaimed royal author Robert Hardman is releasing an updated biography of King Charles III, entitled Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story, and it is already making a lot of noise. The expert claims Queen Elizabeth had planned to force Prince Andrew to downsize his staff and estate, in light of the accusations that surfaced against him in relation with his close friend Jeffrey Epstein. However, that is not all.

According to Robert Hardman, the Queen had also planned to end Prince Harry and Meghan's lease on Frogmore Cottage and replace the former tenants with her own son, effectively forcing him to leave his family home, the Royal Lodge, located on the Windsor estate. In the book, Robert Hardman cites a former adviser to Queen Elizabeth, without naming them.

Had she lived another year, he would have been out. It was her plan to move him out, to end the lease for the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage and to move Andrew in there.

It was mainly a money thing, as she could see it was becoming unsustainable.

Indeed, while Prince Andrew is not a working member of the Royal Family, he does get money from the monarchy—something the King is allegedly trying to change.

King Charles allegedly cut off his brother's funds

According to Robert Hardman, as reported by the excerpt published in the Daily Mail, King Charles has supposedly cut off his brother's funds. Prince Andrew has reportedly been in financial trouble for years, in part because the cost of running his 30-room home at the Royal Lodge and the sex abuse lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Giuffre that was settled.

Although the royal author does not name his sources, he claims King Charles has instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse, the person who deals with the royal budget, to stop paying for Prince Andrew's security detail at his home, as well as his allowance. Together, these costs are believed to amount to millions of pounds in only one year. So far, Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the subject.

The relationship between the two brothers has been strained over recent years. In September 2024, the BBC had explained that King Charles did not plan to subsidise his brother indefinitely.

Indeed, while Prince Andrew had a lease with the Crown to own his royal home until 2078, he had to be financially independent to be able to look after the 19th-century home—a requirement he has apparently not succeeded in achieving.

It should be noted that the narrative regarding Prince Andrew's accommodation si not clear cut. Some anonymous sources also claim that Prince Andrew has not been 'kicked out', but rather decided to move. It is believed that he had spoken with the King about getting a more appropriate home when he gets older. Although they had apparently talked about moving him in 10 to 20 years. If this is true, it seems King Charles may be getting a little impatient.

Read more:

This is what King Charles was allegedly doing when Queen Elizabeth died, new book claims

King Charles allegedly wants to bring Prince Andrew back into the royal fold, insider claims

Prince Andrew: The Duke starts new Royal Lodge renovations with £20,000 paint job

Sources used:

Daily Mail: EXCLUSIVEThe Queen planned to end Harry and Meghan's lease on Frogmore Cottage and force Prince Andrew to downsize. More bombshell revelations from landmark new book serialized by Mail

BBC: Prince Andrew to pay costs or move out of Windsor mansion

BBC: Prince Andrew's funding cut off by King, says book