Prince Andrew will keep his publicly-funded bodyguards after a review by the same U.K. government committee at the center of Prince Harry's ongoing security lawsuits, according to recent reports.
Despite having to step down from all public facing royal roles including his military patronages in the wake of a sexual assault lawsuit lodged by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in 2021, Andrew will still receive taxpayer-funded protection at an estimated cost of between £500,000 to £3 million per annum, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reports.
The prince, it was announced earlier this year, would give up his military honors and cease using his HRH (His Royal Highness) title as he settled the lawsuit with Giuffre for an estimated sum in excess of $10 million.
Andrew has continually denied any allegation of wrongdoing.
Following his effective retirement from public life, having no official duties to fulfill on behalf of the monarchy, Andrew's security status was reviewed earlier this year by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), on behalf of the Home Office—an interior ministry of the U.K. government.
The committee "assessed the security threat but concluded that he was still entitled to police bodyguards" when he leaves his home in Windsor Great Park, according to The Daily Telegraph.
This level of security is comparative to that allocated to other senior members of the royal family.
The role that the RAVEC committee has played in this decision comes as Prince Harry is currently in two ongoing lawsuits with the U.K. government over their assessment that he should have his police protection reduced when visiting Britain after stepping down as a full-time working royal in 2020.
The new security arrangement, Harry's legal team argued, left him vulnerable and feeling it is unsafe for him to travel to the U.K. with his wife and children.
The government supported the RAVEC committee's decision that since he is no longer a working royal, the prince does not meet the requirements needed to maintain his pre-royal retirement level of protection at a cost to the taxpayer.
In July a judge ruled that Harry had an "arguable" case to bring against the government in court over how the RAVEC committee came to their decision, stating that the prince's legal team could present the argument that he should have been allowed to make representations to the committee before they came to a decision and that he should have been able to comment on information they considered.
On August 2, the royal filed his second lawsuit focusing on the decision that private individuals are not able to personally pay for police protection, an offer Harry is alleged to have made and been refused.
For Andrew, the RAVEC decision comes as speculation over whether he wishes to make a return to public life through rehabilitating his image after settling the Giuffre lawsuit has been raised.
In March, the royal made his first public appearance since settling the lawsuit when he attended the service of thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip in an unexpected central role on the arm of the queen. This was seen as the monarch's giving her son her full support. Both the queen and Andrew were widely criticized following the service.
An attempted comeback was made in June where, after missing the public celebrations for the queen's Platinum Jubilee due to a bout of COVID, Andrew was said to intend to take part in the annual Garter Day ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Despite losing his military honors, Andrew remains a member of the Order of the Garter, England's highest chivalric order which is in the sole gift of the queen.
Though a source close to the prince previously told Newsweek that the he intended on making an appearance at the events, on the day he only participated in the private aspects. This decision was said to have been made by the "family," according to Buckingham Palace.
Polling undertaken by YouGov in May shows that Andrew remains the most unpopular member of the royal family, receiving an 88 percent total negative response.
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace and representatives for Prince Andrew for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
