King Charles III and Prince Andrew no longer on speaking terms, according to royal experts
A huge question hangs over the British royal family's annual Christmas celebrations at Sandringham this year: will King Charles III allow Prince Andrew to attend?
Andrew was present at the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on December 25 last year, but it's believed his relationship with the King has deteriorated significantly since then.
The royal brothers are reportedly no longer on speaking terms following a drawn-out dispute over Andrew's residing at Royal Lodge, which prompted the King to cut his brother off financially.
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York and King Charles III are reportedly no longer on speaking terms. Peter Nicholls - WPA Pool /Getty
Royal writer Robert Hardman claimed in the updated edition of his biography of His Majesty that the King put in a request with the royal treasurer to put an end to Andrew's security funding.
His Majesty also severed the Duke of York's "£1 million-a-year" (approx. $1.97 million) allowance.
The news came after months of rumours about a "feud" between the brothers over Royal Lodge, where Andrew has lived with ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York for years.
However, cutting Andrew off financially did not make him leave Royal Lodge.
The Duke of York recently informed authorities at Buckingham Palace he has enough money from other legitimate sources to allow him to keep living there, per to The Times.
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Britain's Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have lived together at Royal Lodge for years. AP
Charles has been urging Andrew to move to the smaller Frogmore Cottage for months now but the Duke has resisted calls to vacate Royal Lodge.
It has been a sore spot between the brothers for some time but the rift in Charles and Andrew's relationship really started back in 2019, according to royal experts.
"Charles realised that Andrew's association with [Jeffrey] Epstein made him a loose cannon," former royal correspondent Stephen Bates told The Times of the brothers' tumultuous relationship in recent years.
"The allegations about his behaviour were never successfully quelled and made him damaged goods."
Concerns about Andrew's behaviour and links to convicted sex offender Epstein only grew larger when Charles was crowned in 2023 and took over from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as reigning monarch.
In the almost two years since, there have been ongoing reports of tension between him and Andrew as His Majesty appears to distance himself from his disgraced younger brother.
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh at royal Christmas last year. Stephen Pond/Getty
Now that he's reportedly cut Andrew off financially and the pair are supposedly not speaking, it seems unlikely that Andrew will receive an invitation to the royal family's Christmas celebrations at Sandringham in December.
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