PRINCE Andrew won’t leave his Royal Lodge home after giving up his titles and settling his rape lawsuit for £7 million.
The Duke of York lives in the 31 bedroom Georgian mansion despite having not apparent means of paying its £1 million a year upkeep.
The 62-year-old settled with Virginia Roberts Giuffre for a figure reported to be around £7 million over claims he raped and abused her when she was 17, which he vehemently denies.
Before he paid out the Prince was stripped of his royal titles as well as his honorary military ranks and stood down as the patron of several charities.
But despite speculation at the beginning of the year he would be forced to leave the Royal Lodge, he is now “very unlikely” to move, a royal source told the Mail on Sunday.
In 2003, Andrew signed a 75-year lease at Royal Lodge for a one-off fee of £1million to the Crown Estate — the equivalent of around £250 a week.
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Andrew has spent £7.5million refurbishing the property, including the addition of an indoor swimming pool.
Royal Lodge, which would be worth at least £30million on the open market, is three miles from Windsor Castle and was the Queen Mother’s old home.
Andrew’s former wife Sarah Ferguson is also living in the mansion although the couple are believed to have separate wings.
Down the years questions have been asked about the Duke’s seemingly extraordinary wealth.
He has a watch collection believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and he is also known to have a love for expensive cars, including a £220,000 Bentley.
His jet-set life has seen him party everywhere from St Tropez to New York and until recently he owned a £17million ski chalet in the Alps.
But official annual income is believed to be just £248,000 pocket money from The Queen and a Royal Navy pension of just under £20,000.
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With that allowance intended to cover the costs of his duties, including his team of staff, it seemingly would not stretch far enough to also cover his extravagant lifestyle.
Prince Andrew’s representatives have been approached for comment.
