What kind of ‘payoff’ did King Charles have to give Andrew Mountbatten Windsor?

King Charles’s communications office has given multiple briefings to the royal rota in the past 24 hours about the “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor” situation. According to the official rota, the degenerate formerly known as Prince Andrew is being punished severely by his brother King Charles. “The move” to strip Andrew of all titles and force him out of Royal Lodge was “entirely down to the King and his advisors, without pressure from the Government or other family members, such as Prince William.” Becky English was seemingly the first to report, in the Daily Mail, that while Andrew is being moved into a home on the Sandringham Estate, it won’t be Wood Farm, which was where Prince Philip retired to in his final years.

English also noted this: “Sources said it has been necessary, given how swiftly events were unfolding, to focus on getting proper security in place. In an act of mercy, the King will fund the move privately and, as Andrew remains a member of the family, Charles will also make ‘private provisions’ for him.” So… Charles is ensuring Andrew’s security, paying for Andrew to live rent-free in Norfolk, and Andrew will also get “private provisions.” What the rota doesn’t want to talk about (yet) is what kind of financial settlement was made. Well, Tom Sykes got a big tip for his Royalist Substack about what kind of money was involved.

In the end, King Charles didn’t have any choice. He had to give his brother, what he has long been asking for. For I am told that ex-Prince Andrew has received a “handsome” payoff worth millions in return for surrendering his lease on Royal Lodge.

On Thursday, Andrew was stripped of his princely titles in a humiliating manner. He will now be known as Mr Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, following new revelations about his links to Jeffrey Epstein and the publication of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s memoir. However, critics immediately said it was not an adequate response.

Graham Smith of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic told The Royalist podcast (and fulsome apologies that it did not stream concurrently here): “The problem is the royals keep thinking this is enough. I couldn’t care less about the prince title. He remains accused of serious offenses and I do not believe that there is not enough evidence to have a genuine police investigation. Worrying about what he is called, or where he lives, is not an appropriate response.”

Royal aides said that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor “did not object” to the removal of his titles. Friends of Mr Mountbatten Windsor told the Daily Beast that Andrew had reached a generous financial settlement with King Charles as part of the deal, which will see him move to a private home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk as soon as is practicable. He is understood not to be moving to Wood Farm, the retirement home of the late Prince Philip.

One friend said, “Andrew made it clear that he needed to be financially recompensed for surrendering the remaining 50 years of his lease on one of England’s finest homes. The lease was his daughter’s inheritance and an asset, and in this country, you can’t seize people’s assets. Charles was always going to have to pay him off, and he has done what he should have done in the first place.”

Another friend of both Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew told the Daily Beast, “The pension is handsome.”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment; however, in official documentation seen by The Royalist, the palace admitted that not only would Andrew be given a home on the Sandringham estate funded by the king, but that he would also receive direct funding in the form of “appropriate private provision.” The palace also suggested that he would be allowed to continue earning money privately.

[From The Royalist Substack]

While Sykes calculates that Charles “settled” with Andrew for low-to-mid seven figures, I think Andrew would be a fool to take anything lower than $10 million or thereabouts. Andrew had Charles over a barrel, and Charles had to pay more because Charles had let this situation fester for so long, and Charles had completely misread the public mood. In exchange for his titles and the Royal Lodge lease, Andrew got: a generous payoff worth millions; a permanent home on the Windsors’ private estate in Norfolk; some kind of income for general upkeep; security for life, funded by the monarch; the ability to travel freely to the Middle East and make sketchy “deals” there; protection from any larger investigation and prosecution. Andrew made out like a bandit, and I’m waiting to see if there will be another backlash to this “deal.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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54 Responses to “What kind of ‘payoff’ did King Charles have to give Andrew Mountbatten Windsor?”

  1. Tessa says:

    I guess he can also have a stable of horses and those hunting parties.

    • TheFarmer'sWife says:

      With the exception of Harry and Meghan, all these supposed royals are disgusting. They have no morals, never had morals, and aid and abet criminals at every opportunity with a smile. No more Kings.

  2. Andrea says:

    Low to mid seven figures in GBP would be $10m or more in USD. Legally Andrew is entitled to money for being kicked off the lease, but that was only several hundred thousand pounds all told. Gross.

  3. Tuesday says:

    My guess, with no real evidence, was that Charles gave him $10m and an allowance of $1m a year. That seems “reasonable” for someone descended from a monarch if you’re the type of person who cares about that…which the Windsors do.

  4. Yes money talks in this family. Paper bags full of money! Yes the pedo will still be protected and will be housed safely and you can’t call him Prince. Big F**king Deal. He should be handed over to authorities and properly investigated and prosecuted. Instead he will live his life protected and funded and housed. Poor poor pedo (not)!

    • Mightymolly says:

      I’m curious about the part where he’s still free to travel to oppressive nations (where he can engage in all kinds of nefarious behavior, tbh). What value does he have any more to the oil oligarchs? He has no access to anything.

  5. samipup says:

    Andrew formally known as Prince.

  6. Mightymolly says:

    I really don’t see how the BRF can survive any more scandals. They’re hemorrhaging princes. We’ve just learned the monarch can bypass Parliament. Beatrice is currently courting funds from an oppressive regime involved in kidnappings and assassinations, which could turn scandal at any time. Wills has to maintain a happy family image for dear life, which gives the Middletons a lot of power. It feels like the jig is up.

  7. Talie says:

    There’s still a lot of grey area here as when the last statement was released. For one thing – if this has to go to Parliament – it can take months. Not sure if this is some special workaround?

    Also, it does feel like it helps Republicanism because now they can say “well many members of the aristocracy have committed some kind of crime or are morally corrupt – let’s strip their titles!” I think it makes it harder for William to enact his plan if Charles is not doing everyone at once and making it clear Beatrice and Eugenie are protected. It creates special rules for blood royals which is defeats the purpose of this whole hierarchical system.

  8. Becks1 says:

    Charles paid him a lot to break the lease, a lot to give up his titles and will support him for the rest of his life at sandringham. The DB last night was trying to act like sandringham was Siberia. Um no.

    So overall Andrew made out relatively well. Better than the victims.

    • SURE says:

      Will A be supported for the rest of his life when KFC is no longer king?

      • WaterDragon says:

        I think all bets would be off. Charles has already demonstrated that decisions made by prior Monarch are meaningless. QE II “gave” Harry and Meaghan Frogmore Cottage and Charles yanked that away. There are probably more examples.

      • Gabby says:

        @SURE, I think that consideration was taken into account with an upfront payment to cover the William years.

      • Becks1 says:

        I would not be surprised if there was a signed agreement somewhere that stipulates Andrew’s annual pension is for the rest of his life regardless of the monarch (worded more legally than that). Or else this just starts up again in 5-10 years or whenever.

      • Bqm says:

        Yeah William isn’t going to want this flaring up again. I think whatever Andrew gets is set in stone. Either the initial payment is big enough (more than seven figures), the allowance amount and duration is codified or there’s a trust.

    • MSJ says:

      Seems he’s going to be better off than if he stayed at Royal Lodge. This is an upgrade for him financially. He will not be personally responsible for any costs at Sandringham Estate, neither rent or maintenance of the property.

      Meanwhile the victims have not received justice and Virginia Guiffre took her own life to end her suffering. 😔 Paid £12m to silence Virginia yet claims he is innocent and never met her, doesn’t know her. He lied to the world on BBC.

      The Windsors are a disgrace.

  9. Hypocrisy says:

    “Andrew made out like a bandit” he sure did, this isn’t a punishment at all it’s most people’s idea of a dream retirement. I am especially disgusted that they are still providing security for him while Harry has no security while being stalked when he is there. I believe this will bring alot of well deserved backlash, the rota better tone down the self congratulations because this wasn’t a win.

  10. North of Boston says:

    “The lease was his daughter’s inheritance and an asset, and in this country, you can’t seize people’s assets.”

    Does that “rule” apply only to Andrew?

    Because I seem to recall some other relatives of Charles who had the home they were gifted by QEII, their son and daughter’s future home in Windsor, essentially seized, with no recompense.

    In fact, instead of payment for what Charles seized, Charles instead issued a ban on wearing earned-through-active-duty-service military honors and uniforms, had their security pulled, their location leaked, and plus British officials, palace aides behind the scenes messed with their official personal documents (birth certificates, passports, etc).

    And they had committed no assaults on minors, committed no crimes, simply wanted to live a life of service without having to silently accept horrendous abuse and to be able to access needed health services and keep themselves and their child(ren) safe from harm.

    Go figure.

    • Happy Peregrine says:

      William and Kate seized assets from both elderly pensioners living in cottages close to their newest “forever” home. They also seized publicly owned land for themselves.

      William and Kate kicked elderly people out of their own “forever” homes, breaking their leases and shoving them into other homes. Because homes for peasants are interchangeable and don’t hold a lifetime of happy memories and familiarity meant to comfort people in their old age.

  11. PunkyMomma says:

    Why hasn’t Andrew been taken out of the line of succession? Take away his titles, boot him from the Royal Lodge, strip away his princely title, but keep him in line for the crown? Obviously he won’t ever be king, but if Andrew is to be truly stripped of privilege, take it all away.

  12. Chrissie T says:

    This has disaster written all over it. The treatment of Andrew vs Harry, mercy to Andrew but nothing but cruelty to your son, Letting Andrew continue make commercial deals the man who was smuggling a spy into Windsor, like that’s not going to blow up in their faces. There are so many dodgy aspects to this deal. The more it plays out the more dodgy it seems.

    • Harla says:

      Yeah, that part about Andrew being allowed to “continue to earn money privately” is definitely going to come back and bite the whole family in the backside!! Andrew seems unable to earn money that isn’t tainted by some despot, oligarch or spy.

  13. MSJ says:

    They’re still opaque as usual. Lack of transparency will continue to sink that institution. Continued lies and obfuscation prevails in the media. The public’s patience is eroding each day. The Windsor brand continued to deteriorate globally. 🤷🏽‍♀️

    It seems like this situation will continue way into December. 🤔

    People are suffering financially in a cost of living crisis and the royals are paying Andrew millions now and supporting his cushy lifestyle on Sandringham Estate, including security services (likely will be funded by the government) for the rest of his life.

  14. Meme says:

    Make money HOW? Who on earth is going to pay him – it must be clear that he’s got no access anymore, surely even shady Middle East oil barons can see he’s of no use?

    I wonder if Penny Knatchbull still sometimes uses or has a claim on Wood Farm.

    • SarahCS says:

      The other perverts he has dirt on?

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        The degenerate formerly known as Prince Andrew (I love that line!) continues to fail upward. Who amongst us would feel “punished” by a sweet deal like this? I still think that Charles is afraid of what he knows about him and other royals. They’re trying to make hush money look like a necessary payment for loss of RL and his titles. Notice they continue to have no interest in a police investigation. That is a can of worms that must never be opened.

  15. Amy Bee says:

    He probably got much more than $10 million and I’m sure there’s a clause in the deal that says that William can’t change the terms after he ascends the throne.

    • wendy says:

      William will inherit the lot due to the taxes — there is no clause that will force him to continue to pay for Andrew. Chuck will have to figure out a trust of some sort because I don’t think Bill cares if he writes a book.

  16. Eliza says:

    Treatment of Harry bordered on criminal. Maybe not even bordered.

  17. Aimee says:

    I’m confused now. I thought they need Parliament to strip titles like this. If it’s that easy then we KNOW William will do it to Harry first chance he has.

  18. jais says:

    Woooow. Poor Andrew. Please. Another sweetheart deal. I’m glad VG’s family is happy about it and they should be. Charles wouldn’t even have done this much if not for her courage. At the same time, this deal is kind of farcical. A payoff and private provisions? Meanwhile, Harry just wants security for his family when he goes to the uk. Also, Im quite sure William wanted Charles to deal with Andrew bc William did not want to be the one to have to pay off Andrew.

  19. ParkRunMum says:

    there is a word for the rule the BRF has applied throughout this sordid sequence of events: expediency. At every stage, the BRF have done only as much as they absolutely *had* to do, in order to appease observers who had, quite naturally, questioned the protection that Andrew had been receiving. He simply didn’t face any consequences. And clearly believed he never would.

    Every time they threw a sop to the public, it only made it worse. That’s why his interview blew up in his face. As soon as people apprehend the difference between their calculated lip service, and real atonement, they lost the public’s trust. And that is what happened, repeatedly, which signified, to the public, that the BRF holds them in profound contempt.

    It didn’t take much for the public to conclude, logically, that they have more in common with Virginia than with Andrew.

    Savvier members of the public connected the dots — between the way the system enabled Andrew, and rewarded him, by covering up his sordid behaviour — and the way the system was weaponised against Harry and Meghan. The hysterical vitriol that was directed at them, merely for defending themselves from false allegations, simply blew up in their faces.

    Everyone outside a very narrow demographic in England was stunned by the tone of the coverage, how crude, boorish, nasty, and ham-fisted it was. For setting the record straight, Harry & Meghan were punished; for remaining silent, Andrew was rewarded.

    That is complicity writ large and society in the past 8 years of MeToo has become much more attuned to the ways in which complicity works, the ways that institutions, entourages, lawyers, press reps, family members, lobbyists, etc., are weaponised to isolate and degrade survivors. They systematically enable foul abuse of women in particular, because this is a business. So it generates profits.

    This didn’t become a crisis overnight: there were many times when it could have, should have, would have, been addressed, confronted, resolved. Epstein was arrested in, what, 2008? He was out of Jail in 2010? Andrew was pictured with him in 2011?

    That was 14 years ago. The story — suppressed and studiously ignored but latent and lurking below the surface — burst into headlines when Epstein was found dead in prison, in, what, 2019? That was six years ago.

    They’ve had nearly two decades to cope with this. They’re past help. Really. This has seriously dented my impression of QEII. She had a blind spot where Andrew was concerned, granted; he was her son. But she should have protected the institution. And she should have protected the rest of her family. Including Harry. They’re connected.

    • Gabby says:

      Andrew was rewarded because the circumstances permit the rest of the BRF to feel and claim superiority over Andrew due to his behavior. They know they can claim no such superiority over the Sussexes, which angers them. The Sussexes continue to make the left-behind BRF look bad in comparison, which is of course, the bigger sin.

  20. Jay says:

    Becky English talks about how “swiftly” events are unfolding. That’s utter bullsh!t. These crimes happened and Epstein was convicted (not of his full offenses, but still a sex offense) more than 15 years ago. Andrew’s disastrous interview was in 2019. Far from reacting “swiftly”, the palace has been glacial in their response. Everything they have done (and it’s still not enough) has been because they have been dragged obstinately by the force of public outrage. So Becky can shove it, along with the talk of Charles being “merciful”.

    You know who didn’t get any mercy? Virginia, who the rota were more than happy to refer to as a prostitute, a gold digger, and a liar. So again, Becky and her minions on the royal WhatsApp can eff all of the way off.

  21. MSJ says:

    What we are witnessing is a Constitutional Crisis in motion.

    Follow the money. The Windsors are corrupt deviants. This is an establishment coverup. They want their corrupt financial dealings (Crown Estate, Duchy of Lancaster, Duchy of Cornwall, Sovereign Grant) to remain opaque and consequently have acquiesced to the Yorks’ demands. Nothing they have done so far has yielded accountability from Andrew. Andrew continues to assert his innocence despite evidence.

    The family/institution is a toxic, dysfunctional ‘mafia’ operation. It’s why they ‘hate’ Prince Harry for leaving and speaking about how the sausage is made (the links, via the courtiers, between the family and the media as well as between the family and RAVEC).

    The further distance the Sussexes put between them and the Windsors, the better off they are. As Harry said, he has a clear conscience about everything he has done. This current Windsor saga further cements the fact that he made the right choice to leave and eventually move to the USA with his young family.

  22. Gabby says:

    I still think Andrew has dirt on Camilla, so Chuckles had to pay millions. For Andrew’s sake, I hope he got all the funds up front. We know how his “Majesty” likes to go back on his promises. He probably had to get several of those bags of cash out of the linen closet.

    I hope all tabloids using the term “formerly known as Prince” in their headlines pay handsome royalties to the estate of Prince Rogers Nelson as is deserved.

  23. KC says:

    What’s so crazy is that this IS a big deal from the POV of the BRF as they are so distanced from reality. What we consider entitled behavior is just that, what they were born to expect, that the rules don’t apply, that th family comes first. The family as a whole is soaked with that level of entitlement, but they are hardly alone in beleiving that. Look at the out of control behavior of celebrities: Diddy, Weinstein and others in milder ways.

  24. Durga says:

    Doesn’t this just open the floodgates… If the fiction of titles is NOT hereditary, but at the whim of the sitting monarch, then there is nothing special about “royal” blood. For any of them. So what’s the point of any of them? In the good ole days, Charles could’ve trumped up some treason charges and beheaded poor Mr. Mountbatten Windsor. At least the beheading would preserve the fiction of God-given titles and royal blood.

    But if one can be Unroyaled, all can (and should) be Unroyaled. Why should Head of State be some inbred German illiterate, workshy, rageaholic, slumlord? Why not someone deserving of the job?

  25. QuiteContrary says:

    But where will Andrew shoot grouse?

    If there was real justice in the world, the grouse would be allowed to attack Andrew.

  26. Well Wisher says:

    This maybe the best for Andrew, which could be worst with King William.
    During the last melt down before Harry’s UK visit, it was asserted that as king he has been assured that he can do whatever he likes with Meghan and Harry; to ensure the continuance of Camilla’s present lifestyle and future (up to 100 million pounds according to one of the “rags”).

  27. Shoegirl77 says:

    So they can swiftly arrange security for the paedophile because of the fall out of Virginia’s book but it’s impossible for Chucky to intervene with RAVEC for his son, his biracial wife and their biracial children? Such a good look as always, Chucky.

  28. Isabella says:

    At some point, people will expect William to do something, besides yelling about Harry.

  29. Monlette says:

    What I find most sickly amusing about this whole fiasco is that Andrew hasn’t lost his place in the Line of Succession. The press tries to downplay that, claiming it’s unlikely he will inherit the throne, but they seem to have forgotten that if Charles and William both pass before George reaches his majority, either Harry or Andrew will have to serve as regent.

  30. Maja says:

    Once upon a time, the bravest, the smartest, the wisest, the most worthy were chosen to lead a group. What on earth has become of this principle in our world?

  31. bisynaptic says:

    #IAmWithGraham

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