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King Charles has moved his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on to his Norfolk estate in an effort to “contain” him, say sources.
Andrew has been at the centre of further scandal after the latest tranche of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein were released after already being stripped of his royal title late last year.
On Monday he moved out of the Royal Lodge in Windsor and on to the King’s Sandringham estate while his permanent property underwent renovation.
“The King feels he has no other option than to provide for his brother, who will be privately funded on a private estate,” a source told the Times.
“Every time he’s tried to support himself by independent means, it has led to greater trouble. Containing him is the hope.”
The revelations are reported to have been “shocking and distressing” with royal sources describing Andrew as “unstable”.
The King has pledged to fund Andrew indefinitely using private funds and his security is also paid for by him.
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King Charles is ‘acutely aware of the public feeling’, say sources (Getty Images)
After King Charles and Queen Camilla were heckled about Andrew during a high-street outing, the friend said that the King is “acutely aware of the public feeling”.
The man had shouted: “Charles, Charles, have you pressurised the police to start investigating Andrew?”
“He doesn’t need to be heckled to understand the mood of the nation,” the King’s friend continued. “Accelerating him [Andrew] out of Royal Lodge last was another nod to show he gets it. A plan made is not the same as a plan enacted, and the King wanted that plan enacted asap.”
They added: “The King feels that keeping his brother out of the public gaze and away from any kind of public expense, is the right thing to do. Andrew is no longer a burden on the public purse and the King has done all he can to remove him from the public gaze, but the reality is he can’t remove him from the public consciousness.”
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The King has taken on full responsibility for looking after his brother’s finances (Getty Images)
There’s no suggestion that appearing in the files implies wrongdoing and people who have appeared in previous releases have denied any illicit behaviour in relation to Epstein.
Among the latest revelations to emerge during the latest release of the Epstein files are that Andrew appeared to invite the disgraced financier to Buckingham Palace for dinner and “lots of privacy” years after his conviction for sex offences.
Epstein responded: “Already in london [sic]. what time woudl [sic] you like me and we will also need/ have private time.” It is not clear whether a meeting at the palace took place.
The latest release also included pictures that appeared to feature Andrew poised on all fours over a woman on the floor. It is unclear where and when the photos were taken and the woman’s face is hidden.