Royal news live: Prince Andrew ‘shoving two fingers up at King Charles’ over £30m Royal Lodge standoff

Tensions are continuing to build between Prince Andrew and King Charles over the disgraced duke’s residence at his 31-bedroom Windsor mansion.

Royal commentators have suggested Andrew is standing firm on his plans to remain in the £3mn Royal Lodge, despite his brother making it increasingly difficult for him to live there and shocking images showing the house in a state of disrepair.

Royal author Christopher Wilson believes the duke is “digging his toes in” and “shoving up two fingers at” Charles as he continues to live at the former home of the late Queen Mother and King George VI.

“It’s dishonouring [the Queen Mother’s] memory. It’s shoving up two fingers at King Charles,” he told The Sun. “The state of his mind is reflected in the state of his home. It is falling all around him. He doesn’t care anymore.”

In her new documentary, Camilla is seen visiting a refuge and speaking candidly with domestic abuse survivors about their deeply personal experiences.

Earlier this year, Camilla backed The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign to build two new refuges for women fleeing abuse. Thanks to generous donations from readers the initial £300,000 target has recently been reached, with more than £500,000 of donations pouring in so far and plans are already underway for the building of a second home.

Speaking about the importance of refuges in the documentary Camilla says: “You flee and you arrive at this haven. Room of their own, a door they can lock. And as time goes by, they start having their confidence restored and start their life anew.

“These refuges are literally life savers. Without these refuges, where would they go?”

The monarch and Prince William have sparked uproar after it was revealed they are benefiting from rental deals with public services – including the armed forces and state schools – on their private estates, the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

The two estates earned the royals upwards of £50mn in the last financial year, with both estates being exempt from paying corporation tax or capital gains tax.

Charles has been asked to reconsider an £11.4m deal struck by the Duchy of Lancaster last year to store a fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses for 15 years.

King Charles has instructed the royal purse-keeper to “sever” Prince Andrew’s annual £1 million allowance, according to royal writer Robert Hardman in a new book serialised by the Daily Mail.

The keeper of the privy purse was “instructed to sever [Andrew’s] living allowance” after the Duke of York refused to move out of his 30-room mansion the Royal Lodge into the smaller, nearby Frogmore Cottage.

“’The duke is no longer a financial burden on the King,’ confirms one familiar with the situation,” Mr Hardman writes.

“’He claims to have found other sources of income related to his contacts in international trade, sufficient to cover all his costs – which would be a welcome outcome for all parties if that turns out to be the case.

“’But as to whether this funding can be relied upon in the long term is another matter.’”

The view of the monarchy in the UK remains overwhelmingly positive, writes Alan Rusbridger. But the public deserve full transparency on the family’s staggering wealth:

However in both cases the colonial-era titles could be retained for those who wanted them.

The former President’s son recently discussed how much his father and current presidential candidate Donald Trump “loved” the late Queen Elizabeth II and how much damage Harry caused to the royal family after he and Meghan decided to leave their positions in 2020.

Eric also told the outlet that Harry would not need to worry about being deported if his father is elected on November 5 even if his visa application has been questioned.

King Charles is facing calls to dissolve his lucrative private estates and refund the cash-strapped NHS after it emerged he is making millions from renting out ambulance parking spaces and sub-standard properties.

Charles has been asked to reconsider an £11.4m deal struck by the Duchy of Lancaster last year to store a fleet of electric ambulances, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, in one of the estate’s warehouses for 15 years.

Campaigners described the deal as “disgraceful” and a “money-grabbing activity” which ought to be reconsidered by the King.

“I think it is disgraceful actually, given the NHS is under so much pressure, for the Royal Family to charge for ambulance parking and other NHS uses,” Dennis Reed from Silver Voices, a campaign group for elderly people, told The Daily Mail. “[It] sounds rather like a money-grabbing activity. And I would hope because of the publicity there will be a rethink in the Royal Household.”

Queen Elizabeth offered a crucial piece of advice to her grandsons, Princes William and Harry.

According to royal author Angela Levin, the late Queen, who passed away at 96, was increasingly troubled by what she perceived as a misalignment in their priorities.

Levin’s book, ‘Harry: Conversations with the Prince’, reveals that the Queen expressed her worries in a direct nine-word warning: the brothers must “think of the nation’s needs rather than their own.”

At the time, the Queen’s concerns were particularly focused on Harry’s vision for his role within the family.

Mr Levin said that Duke of Sussex envisioned a life for the young royals that embraces a sense of “ordinary life,” suggesting that their familial obligations might sometimes take precedence over their commitments to the monarchy.

This perspective seemed at odds with the Queen’s traditional views on royal responsibilities.

Insiders close to the royal family said that this was a serious concern for the Queen, who, while known for her stoic demeanour, felt the weight of her legacy and the institution she represented.