Prince Andrew’s mysterious funds, which allow him to live a lavish lifestyle, continue to raise eyebrows.
The ex-Duke of York stepped back as a senior royal in 2019 following his infamous interview with BBC’s “Newsnight,” in which he attempted to explain his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. On Oct. 17, the 65-year-old announced he was relinquishing his Duke of York title and other honors after renewed scrutiny over his connection with the late sex offender.
But questions remain about how Andrew, once recognized as Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite son, still fills his pockets.
“Apparently, many businesses connected to Andrew and [his ex-wife] Sarah have been profiled and promoted at Royal Lodge over the years,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. “… But where does his money come from? That is the million-dollar question.”
“There are very wealthy individuals who support Andrew, especially where millions, to them, are like pocket change,” Turner claimed. “At the moment, Andrew still has the keys to his Royal Lodge mansion. He is able, within his extensive grounds, to carry out any project he wishes.”
King Charles’ younger brother has dealt with “wealthy, mainly foreign, people,” allowing him to keep his financial affairs from the public for years, The Guardian reported.
“The public is furious that Prince Andrew is still living in luxury,” British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. “They want answers about his finances. People feel the king’s intervention is too little, too late. The public wants an understanding of where Andrew is getting suitable money to live his lavish life. They hope he will, again, fall on his sword and relinquish everything.”
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital that Andrew’s only declared source of income is the pension he receives from his days in the Royal Navy between 1979 and 2001. The amount is reported to be £20,000, or about $26,640 a year.
The Guardian noted that the sum is “hardly enough” for him to buy the Swiss lodge he acquired in 2014 for a reported £18 million ($23.99 million), nor to maintain his current home, Royal Lodge — a 30-room mansion worth about $38 million.
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“The king used to give him an allowance of a reported £1 million a year ($1.33 million) and pay for his security, but this ended last year,” Fitzwilliams said. “Sarah Ferguson sold her house in Belgravia for a reported £3.85 million ($5.13 million) in August. She is not in debt. He may also have money from sources abroad we are unaware of.”
“He appears to have accepted the need to move from Royal Lodge, and that will involve a financial settlement,” Fitzwilliams said.
“He has a watertight lease, but the optics of him living there are no longer acceptable.”
Royal experts agree that much of Andrew’s financial arrangements remain unclear because details aren’t publicly disclosed. It is believed his property assets, business dealings and private funding play a significant role in maintaining his royal lifestyle. Urramoor Limited, a financial firm that managed Andrew’s private investments, was shut down in January 2025, the New York Post reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. A spokesperson for the palace previously told Fox News Digital they don’t answer for Andrew as he’s not a working royal.
According to The Guardian, public records show Andrew received official payments from the public purse as a working royal between 1978 and 2010. The last published figure of how much he received was £249,000 ($331,000) a year in 2010. The outlet reported that after that, the late queen made direct payments to him from her private wealth while he carried out royal engagements.
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The paper estimated that over four decades, Andrew received nearly £13 million ($17.3 million) to fund his royal work. After 2019, it appeared the queen and later King Charles provided him with an annual allowance from the Windsors’ private wealth, which reportedly stopped last year.
In April 2025, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission released a witness statement from Dominic Hampshire, a senior aide to Andrew who helped arrange meetings between the prince and Chinese businessman Tengbo Yang, a suspected spy, The Associated Press reported.
“After the ‘Newsnight’ interview and in the following few months, it was clear that the duke’s reputation was irrecoverable,” Hampshire said in a 10-page statement dated May 25, 2024. “It was very clear internally within the royal household that we would have to look at options for the duke’s future away from royal duties.”
The British government barred Yang from entering the country in 2023 as a threat to national security. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld that decision in December 2024.
Andrew has said he accepted government advice and ceased all contact with the Chinese national as soon as concerns were raised.
The prince has been the subject of tabloid stories stretching back to at least 2007, when he sold his Sunninghill Park home for 20% over the £15 million asking price. The buyer was reported to be Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of then–Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, raising concerns the deal was an attempt to buy influence in Britain.
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The Guardian also reported that in 2001, Andrew was appointed as the government’s trade representative, a role that required him to travel abroad and help secure business for British companies. The outlet said it has long been alleged that Andrew exploited the role to gain personal access to wealthy individuals.
“Unfortunately, it was at this time that greed took precedence,” Chard claimed. “It opened up many dodgy doors for him. He was the subject of a series of controversies over his links with unsavory businessmen.”
In 2011, Andrew faced questions about his friendship with Saif Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan politician Muammar Gaddafi, as well as his ties to a convicted Libyan gun smuggler, according to The Associated Press.
In emails obtained by British newspapers in 2025, Andrew reportedly wrote to Epstein in 2011 that they were “in this together” and would “have to rise above it.” The correspondence reportedly took place more than two months after Andrew claimed he had cut off all contact with Epstein.
Last year, the Mail on Sunday’s editor-at-large, Charlotte Griffiths, claimed that Charles was the secret source who paid Andrew’s rent, allowing him to stay at Royal Lodge. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” agreed with Griffiths’ scoop. Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time.
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“… The [late] queen wouldn’t have left Andrew bereft,” Seward explained to Fox News Digital at the time.
“She would’ve made a provision for him, and maybe that provision came through his elder brother as monarch,” she shared. “When the king dies or the queen dies, the money goes to the next monarch. Everything goes to the next monarch. So, she either would have made provisions for Andrew before she died, or she would’ve made provisions through Charles.”
Chard told Fox News Digital that it’s likely Andrew was left money by both his mother and grandmother. Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 2022. She was 96.
“He will also have made investments in his younger days and later life,” she said.
Officially stripping Andrew of his royal titles would require an act of parliament. While Andrew will no longer be referred to as the Duke of York, he will remain a prince as he is the son of the late queen. Buckingham Palace and the British government are under intense pressure to formally strip Andrew of his royal titles.
