King will tell Andrew to quit Windsor lodge after paying no rent for 22 years

King Charles is expected to push ahead with talks this week aimed at persuading Prince Andrew to quit his Royal Lodge home.

- Richard Palmer

The negotiations come amid growing calls in Westminster for closer scrutiny of royal finances after the disclosure that Andrew has lived rent-free for 22 years in the 30-room Grade II-listed mansion in Windsor Great Park. Andrew paid £1m upfront in 2003 and spent at least a further £7.5m on refurbishing the £30m property to secure a 75-year lease with the crown estate and is now liable for a payment of "one peppercorn" a year, if asked, until 2078.

His running costs are estimated to be about £600,000 a year but he appears to have no visible means of support. He is thought to have business interests in the Middle East and has run into controversy over efforts to set up deals in China with an alleged spy, and with shady individuals elsewhere, but nobody has been able to say definitively how he affords his lifestyle.