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A royal expert has claimed the disgraced Prince Andrew 'acts as though the taxpayer owes him everything'. Recent polling of Brits showed that 80 per cent want Andrew to give up his Royal Lodge home. However he bought a 'cast iron' 75-year lease to the Grade II listed property back in 2003, for £1 million, so as long as he is able to continue paying for running costs and renovations, he cannot legally be forced to leave. READ MORE: New £16 M&S perfumes inspired by popular Jo Malone and Tom Ford scents King Charles' younger brother has been back in the spotlight in recent weeks due to his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations of sexual assault made against him by the late Virginia Giuffre - which he has consistently denied - plus other scandals. The Mirror reports this culminated in Andrew giving up the use of his royal titles and honours - though for now he still holds them legally - after a 10-minute phone conversation with the King. The renewed scrutiny comes after the publication of a new biography about Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, by Andrew Lownie, includes claims made about Andrew's poor attitude when it comes to the treatment of staff and spending the taxpayer's money. Lownie alleges that whilst Andrew was trade envoy for the UK, he often insisted in staying in luxury hotels, rather than embassies, at extra cost to the public. The author told i newspaper the King's brother acted as though the "taxpayer owes him everything", adding: "He absolutely pushed the government to cover expenses. "People rubber-stamped stuff because he was a royal. The Foreign Office didn't feel they could do anything. "The problem was, he wasn't properly supervised. No one quite knew who was in charge. "So he was left to run his own show. He likes to get things for free. It's back to the sense of entitlement – that the taxpayer owes him everything." Figures for 2011 showed that £4 million of taxpayer money had been spent covering Andrew's hotels and flights during the decade he held the role.
