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A royal biographer has claimed that disgraced Andrew Windsor once asked King Charles to allow a 'bizarre' £32,000 request, but this was swiftly rejected as the King was left "horrified'". While it had been previously passed through by the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles firmly blocked his brother's request for spiritual Indian gurus to treat him while he was staying at home. According to author Robert Jobson, this £32,000 request was immediately blocked as the King refused to spend royal funds on such a proposal. Writing in his book The Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty, Jobson said that the King's refusal to accept his brother's request signalled a new, more business-like approach to how funds will be spent, reports the Mirror. He wrote: "The palace began to shift, not loudly, but unmistakably. His mark was there, quiet but undeniable. ‘This isn’t about financial cuts,’ one senior insider explained. ‘It’s about getting value for money and efficiency. Sometimes less truly is more.’" The shift is said to be part of a wider effort by the current King to reshape the Royal Household and enforce financial discipline among the members of his family. Referring to the King's determination to reduce the number of royals reliant on his patronage, one source bluntly said: "The King isn’t running a housing association for distant relatives." This blocking of Andrew's request also reflects the effort to distance the monarchy from association with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein through the former Prince and Duke of York. Earlier this week, on November 6, King Charles officially stripped his brother of his princely title and HRH style following continued allegations that he assaulted Virginia Guiffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has denied all of these claims. However, Andrew is not the only one to experience the King's tightening on royal resources as he evicted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage , which had been gifted to them by the late Queen as a wedding present. "Their loss of a British base, announced soon after the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, is described as ‘the tip of the iceberg’. The message is clear: no freeloaders in the modern monarchy." Additionally, the king has instructed his aides to focus on "smarter use of resources" as they were told to rein in spending from both the Duchy of Lancaster and the Sovereign Grant. According to the author, Charles' priority is to direct funds towards areas that will strengthen the institution, such as competitive pay and pensions to retain the efficient staff. A senior source told the author: "There have been staff cutbacks. That started straight away. The buzz phrase in the household now is ‘value for money.’" King Charles has also upheld his promise of slimming down the monarchy by saving the public purse more than £20million. In 2023–24, the overall net expenditure funded by the Sovereign Grant fell by 17 per cent to £89.1million, compared to a record high the previous year when the Royal Family spent more than £107million. Additionally, the expenditure for the 2024-2025 financial year was £85.2million, which is a 4 per cent decrease compared to the previous year - £3.9million.
