Prince Andrew, Duke of York Current Events 7: February 2015

[FigTree]

Originally Posted by irish_royalist

Because it apparently costs £3 million per year.
And in these times of financial difficulties for everyone across the globe, if he wants to retain this privilege, he can pay for it by himself - the British taxpayer can no longer afford to do so.
I'm afraid his days of running to Mummy for help, at the age of 62, are over!

He lives on a guarded comp,ex. He doesn’t seem to go out anyway. I think he’ll be fine.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by FigTree

He lives on a guarded comp,ex. He doesn’t seem to go out anyway. I think he’ll be fine.

You truly expect him to remain in his house and Windsor Great Park for the rest of his life? That's effectively a life-long (luxury) prison sentence...

[tommy100]

Somehow I don't think he'll be a prisoner in his house. It isn't like he was regularly going out do his shopping in the supermarket, drink down his local boozer or wait in line at the post office anyway. The places Andrew probably frequents are posh golf clubs, restaurants, Clubs (as in the old fashioned gentleman's type), other rich and famous people's homes etc etc....places which would already be hard for an "ordinary member of the public" to get close to him anyway. It isn't like everyone and their mate is going to be standing next to him in a line anytime soon.

TBH the most "high profile" places for anything to happen were public engagements or when leaving his home - he no longer does engagements and the Windsor estate has probably the largest number of police outside of London.

The idea he has to live in his luxury house like some sort of bunker it over the top IMO and, to be frank, the public can't provide expensive round the clock protection to stop someone shouting what they think of him at Andrew... that isn't what protection officers are for. If it was half the well known people in the UK would be getting police protection with all the stunts extinction rebellion, animal rebellion etc etc are pulling at the moment, even David Attenborough had someone shouting at him the other day while out in public....let's give him 24/7 police protection should we (I'm sure more UK taxpayers would be happy to pay for that than protection for Andrew). The reality is even with "no protection" Andrew will probably have panic alarms and god knows what else to protect him and summon help and the officials clearly think this is enough to handle any "threat" towards him which is more likely to come from members of the public annoyed at Andrew's own behaviour than a real terrorist threat.

[Curryong]

In my opinion I don’t believe there is any real anger towards Andrew nowadays, more a contemptuous indifference. The most danger he would be in IMO might be a member of the public shouting an insult, or lobbing an egg or tomato in his direction. And I agree, I can’t see Andrew queuing at a bus stop or going to a market stall or supermarket for some sausages and vegs. So he’s not likely to come into contact with ordinary members of the public anyway.

[Somebody]

I agree there are many different levels of security - and which level he NEEDS based on a real needs-assessment we do not know (but 3 million seems a lot of money indeed and they should be able to scale that back). However, the suggestion that he will be fine because (and I quote) 'He doesn’t seem to go out anyway' does suggest that would be fine staying within Windsor Grounds (as that already has protection) for the rest of his life - which would make it a prison.

Whether he is 'comfortable' with a lower level than he is used to is a different question but that should not determine the state's contribution to his security. If it is just about being more comfortable with one arrangement over another (because of what he's had most of his life) that is something he would need to pay for. Note that international companies do regularly pay for their employees to receive some kind of protection (depending on the risk assessment of course); so for the 'firm' to continue to provide some security arrangement for a retired senior employee would make some sense - if said person is still considered at risk (which they seem to be doing by providing him a secured place to live).

[FigTree]

Originally Posted by Somebody

You truly expect him to remain in his house and Windsor Great Park for the rest of his life? That's effectively a life-long (luxury) prison sentence...

Didn’t say that. Said he never seemed to go Anywhere. And he doesn’t.

[Denville]

He doesnt seem to leave the Windsor estate, these days, and he is pretty safe there. If he does go to London or to visit people in the country, he can hire security.

[iceflower]

He was pictured on his way to Buckingham Palace today


** rex gallery **

[iceflower]

The Duke of York was seen riding in Windsor today, December 5:


** anp gallery **

[iceflower]

The Duke of York was photographed yesterday morning, December 9:


** rex gallery **

[Leopoldine]

According to The Telegraph, The Duke of York has sold his Swiss chalet. Known as Helora, the property sold for nineteen million pounds to a British family with no public profile and wish to keep it that way.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-fa...-16m-business/

[Curryong]

https://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...2a938fac86b96a

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-officers.html

Prince Andrew will have his security team of Royal Protection Officers replaced by a team of private security personnel according to the above article. It’s suggested here in the Fail article that Charles may pick up the bill for this. There are also suggestions here that he and Sarah still have debts owing to a couple of individuals in spite of selling their Swiss chalet.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Curryong

https://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...2a938fac86b96a

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-officers.html

Prince Andrew will have his security team of Royal Protection Officers replaced by a team of private security personnel according to the above article. It’s suggested here in the Fail article that Charles may pick up the bill for this. There are also suggestions here that he and Sarah still have debts owing to a couple of individuals in spite of selling their Swiss chalet.

The Telegraph has confirmed that the King is expected to pay for the Duke of York's private security since his brother has "no discernible regular income" (or, in other words, cannot afford it himself).

https://archive.ph/SMFFu

[Denville]

Originally Posted by Mbruno

The Telegraph has confirmed that the King is expected to pay for the Duke of York's private security since his brother has "no discernible regular income" (or, in other words, cannot afford it himself).

https://archive.ph/SMFFu

That's just supposition. Charles is not likely to confirm who is paying for A's security. It will probably be him, but it is not confirmed by anyone in the know

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Denville

That's just supposition. Charles is not likely to confirm who is paying for A's security. It will probably be him, but it is not confirmed by anyone in the know

The important (factual) news is that Ravec has decided to remove the Duke's taxpayer-funded security now that he has stepped down as a working royal. That proves that the same standards are being applied to different members of the Royal Family. If the King picks the bill, it will be a private arrangement between him and his brother as I assume no public funds will be involved . The money won't come from the Sovereign Grant for example, although I suppose it may come from the Duchy of Lancaster, but I am not sure.

[Denville]

well yes it was always on the cards that Andrew was going to lose his tax payer funded security, I think he only retained it because the queen was so elderly, and because Covid and his own losing his work meant that Andrew was pretty much confined to Windsor.

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Somebody

I agree there are many different levels of security - and which level he NEEDS based on a real needs-assessment we do not know (but 3 million seems a lot of money indeed and they should be able to scale that back). However, the suggestion that he will be fine because (and I quote) 'He doesn’t seem to go out anyway' does suggest that would be fine staying within Windsor Grounds (as that already has protection) for the rest of his life - which would make it a prison.

Whether he is 'comfortable' with a lower level than he is used to is a different question but that should not determine the state's contribution to his security. If it is just about being more comfortable with one arrangement over another (because of what he's had most of his life) that is something he would need to pay for. Note that international companies do regularly pay for their employees to receive some kind of protection (depending on the risk assessment of course); so for the 'firm' to continue to provide some security arrangement for a retired senior employee would make some sense - if said person is still considered at risk (which they seem to be doing by providing him a secured place to live).

The article in The Telegraph mentioned that he previously had "armed" police security. From what I understand, his private security, no matter who pays for it, will not be armed as, according to the British forum members, that is apparently illegal in the UK (I haven't independently verified that information). In that sense, it is already a major downgrade.


Of course,as long as he stays confined to Royal Lodge and other royal estates, he will still enjoy armed security for free.

[Denville]

no it wont be armed but he should be safe enough. He does not seem to go out much from the Windsor enclave and he will have protection, even if its not armed. He should realise by now that he IS pretty much confined to a semi house arrest for life. He can visit friends, private clubs etc where he should be safe enough but he is not goign to work again, probably not going to travel all that much, and that's going to be his life from now on. He was lucky to keep tax payer funded security for the past 2 years, probalby only allowed because it was the wish of the queen who was a very old lady by then

[Mbruno]

Originally Posted by Denville

no it wont be armed but he should be safe enough. He does not seem to go out much from the Windsor enclave and he will have protection, even if its not armed. He should realise by now that he IS pretty much confined to a semi house arrest for life. He can visit friends, private clubs etc where he should be safe enough but he is not goign to work again, probably not going to travel all that much, and that's going to be his life from now on. He was lucky to keep tax payer funded security for the past 2 years, probalby only allowed because it was the wish of the queen who was a very old lady by then

Although it would have been possible for the Queen to make a personal request to the Home Secretary or to any other pertinent public officer, the Queen herself was not personally involved in those decisions, and I don't think she would have done it considering how observant she was of her constitutional position.

The Queen's Private Secretary was part of Ravec though, so he could have conveyed the Queen's personal wishes to the committee if that was the case. Quoting from The Telegraph:

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’s 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.