Prince Andrew, 64, was seen driving near his £30million Royal Lodge residence in Windsor after it was revealed King Charles had reportedly cut off his yearly allowance.
It comes as sources say the Duke of York has vowed to stay put in his home despite the £1million-a-year budget being axed.
A source told The Sun on Sunday Andrew is refusing to vacate the property: “Prince Andrew is holding firm and is determined to stay in the Royal Lodge.
“He is insistent that he has the funds to pay for his own security, despite the eyewatering seven-figure sum it is reportedly costing him.”
They added he is no longer a “financial burden” on the King, and therefore should see no reason to move from the home he has shared with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, since 2003.
In an updated version of his book, ‘Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story’, author Robert Hardman writes that the King instructed the Keeper of the Privy Purse to remove Prince Andrew’s £1 million annual personal allowance.
He also stopped paying for his personal security, per an excerpt covered by the Daily Mail, meaning Andrew will have to find his own money to strong the costs of security and upkeep.
According to the author, Andrew will also have to cover the cost of protecting several valuable and historical works of art and pieces of furniture borrowed from the Royal Collection.
Although he no longer undertakes royal duties, the Duke of York has been stripped of his patronages and military associations and is effectively barred from using his HRH title in public.
As reported in The Sun, Hardman also alleges the late Queen Elizabeth II would have reluctantly made Andrew move into Frogmore Cottage if she were still alive.
It is understood plans were being drawn up to remove him from his Windsor home in 2023, the year after her death.
Andrew was given a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge in 2002, following the death of the Queen Mother, who lived there before him.
Since moving into the 30-room mansion in 2003, Andrew has shared the space with his former wife, Sarah, and their children Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
When the York sisters moved out and married, Andrew and Sarah continued to live in the property – despite splitting in 1992 and divorcing four years later.