Duke of York Prince Andrew is still guarded by a security detail paid for by taxpayers' money, despite being stripped of the honorable title and ending royal duties, the Telegraph has reported. The security detail is estimated to cost between £500,000 ($606,000) and £3 million ($3.6 million) per year, according to various estimates.
The motives behind maintaining the prince’s security remain unclear, but the newspaper claimed that the decision was made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) after reviewing the level of the security threat for the royal. The prince's residence saw a number of breach attempts last year, which might have compelled the committee to keep his state-provided guards.
In one instance, a 43-year-old Spaniard broke into Andrew’s Windsor home in April, and two more people were detained just days later. Police also had to arrest a woman in December, who was banging the window of the prince's car, sparing no words to verbally abuse him.
It is also possible that RAVEC’s decision was affected by the prince's involvement in a high-profile sexual assault case, in which Virginia Giuffre accused the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her while she was underage and trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein. The royal reached a settlement with Giuffre last year, under which the duke did not admit guilt but nonetheless paid a hefty compensation to the fund established by Giuffre to support sexual assault victims.
Prince Andrew stopped performing official activities as a royal following the scandalous accusations against him. However, he continues to use royal security when leaving his Windsor estate at times, according to the newspaper. The estate itself is also guarded by the security hired using taxpayers' money, the Telegraph said.
Not all royals are guarded, with the duke's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, being among those without state-paid security. Another royal family member who was stripped of the service was Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, who is currently in a legal battle to force a review of the decision that left him without state protection in the UK.