The Duke of York’s private security bill is likely to be funded by the King, despite the monarch’s refusal to pay for Prince Harry’s protection.
Prince Andrew is to be stripped of his taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police protection as he no longer performs public duties.
His armed personal protection officers will be replaced by private security guards at an estimated cost of up to £3 million a year.
The King is expected to foot the bill as the duke has no discernible regular income.
Such a move is likely to rankle the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who complained in their Netflix documentary that the withdrawal of their own taxpayer-funded security left their lives in danger.
In order to fund their own private security arrangements, the couple signed lucrative deals with both Netflix and Spotify, while the duke wrote his memoir, Spare, which is being released on January 10.
Harry is embroiled in two separate legal actions against the Home Office over the decision to withdraw guaranteed police protection when his family is in the UK and instead assess it on a case-by-case basis.
The Duke of York is said to have written to the Home Office and Scotland Yard to complain about losing his police protection.
His entitlement to taxpayer-funded bodyguards was subjected to a full review after he was relieved of his duties as a working royal by the Queen earlier this year, shortly before agreeing a hefty financial settlement with Virginia Giuffre, his sex abuse accuser. The Duke of York has always strenuously denied her allegations.
While he is understood to have enjoyed the benefits of police protection since then, the deal is believed to be coming to an end.
All decisions about royal security are made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec.
Members include senior figures from the King’s household, including his private secretary, as well as a representative from the Prince of Wales’ household.
They are joined by the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council counterterrorism coordination committee, the deputy assistant commissioner specialist operations at the Metropolitan Police, the director-general of the Homeland Security Group at the Home Office, and the deputy director of the National Security Secretariat at the Cabinet Office.
The director of protocol at the Foreign Office and the head of royalty VIP and MP security unit at the Homeland Security Group are also on the committee.
The Duke’s property on the Windsor estate has separate, permanent security arrangements.
His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, had their official royal security removed several years ago, while other non-working royals, including Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, have never had it as adults.
Meanwhile, the Duke of York is expected to join fellow royals at their annual pre-Christmas lunch on Tuesday at Windsor Castle.
Up to 50 members of the wider family are expected to gather at the castle for the private event, which will be hosted by the King for the first time.
The lunch has traditionally been held at Buckingham Palace. It was last held in 2019 after being cancelled for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Buckingham Palace and a spokesman for the Duke declined to comment.
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