Prince Andrew is spotted riding in Windsor with a poppy on his horse in a nod to the late Queen

Prince Andrew has made a nod to his late mother by wearing a poppy on his horse.

The 63-year-old Duke of York appeared in good spirits as he took his horse for a ride outside the Royal Lodge in Windsor today.

Andrew opted for a red sweater and khaki jacket this morning when he got on the saddle.

His horse had a poppy on its side – a gesture often associated with the late Queen Elizabeth, who displayed the red flowers on her horses every year around Remembrance Day.

It comes amid rumors that King Charles privately believes his younger brother ‘has no long-term future’ in his royal family, despite giving Andrew more time to prove he can afford to pay for his upkeep the mansion.

A family friend said: ‘To be honest, I didn’t expect the Duke of York to live at Royal Lodge in the long term. If he could afford the upkeep, he would like to stay. But the chances of that happening are honestly slim.

“He and the Duchess… are rattling around in a huge property that they simply can’t afford.”

The king cut Andrew’s annual allowance – believed to be around £250,000 – following the emergence of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Andrew is said to have paid Epstein sex abuse victim Virginia Roberts £12 million to settle a case she brought against him out of court – allegations he strongly denied.

Last month, Andrew was pictured riding through Windsor Great Park on horseback.

The father-of-two wore navy blue riding breeches and a zip-up sweater with a royal code on it for the outing, making sure to wear a riding helmet and gloves.

In September he seemed to be enjoying his equestrian activities and driving a Range Rover very regularly.

The pictures follow reports that the beleaguered Duke of York has been given permission by the monarch to stay at his Windsor mansion ‘indefinitely’ after they ‘agreed a new deal’.

The pair are at loggerheads over Charles’s demand that Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, move the 30-room royal property – which has problems with damp and needs several million pounds worth of repairs – to a smaller site, such as Harry and Meghan’s old home, Frogmore Cottage.

The Mirror reported last month that Andrew had been granted a stay of execution after Charles accepted that his brother would be given time to prove he can afford the upkeep of the mansion.

Several well-placed sources in royal circles have told the Mail that the prince is not being “realistic” about his financial situation after being forced to step back from his public duties.

A family friend said: ‘It’s all a bit cloud cuckoo land I’m afraid. No one, not least His Majesty, believes there is any realistic chance that the Duke of York can keep the roof of the Royal Lodge over his head in the long term.

‘It is a huge building and an estate that requires a huge amount of maintenance.’

The King’s powers to remove Andrew are limited because he took over the late Queen Mother’s Grade II listed building from the Crown Estate on a long-term lease in 2004 and funded many millions of pounds worth of renovations. If King Charles were to persuade him to move, the Crown Estate could even owe Andrew money.

But the sovereign lives not only by what it looks like for an unemployed ex-king to live in such palatial surroundings, but also by the lucrative income that Royal Lodge could bring in as a rental property on the open market.

“The Duke is clearly not going down without a fight,” an insider noted. “This will probably all end in tears. Most likely from him.”

It comes after his appearance with the Prince and Princess of Wales last month – when the family traveled to church in Balmoral, which was taken as a ‘public statement of togetherness’.

Andrew sat next to William on the way to church and seemed to be right back in the royal fold.

He was driven to church by the future king, whose wife was in the backseat.

They attended church with other family members as the royal family enjoyed their first summer holiday at the estate since the Queen’s death there a year ago.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that the photos of Prince Andrew traveling to church with the Welsh were ‘clearly intended to send a message of family unity’.

But he insisted this was not a sign that Andrew could return to public duties in any form.

‘This is a sad time for the Royal Family during their usual break at Balmoral. She and the nation will soon mark one year since the Queen’s death,” Fitzwilliams said.

“We know how close Andrew was to the late Queen. His appearance at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Memorial Service in March 2022, where he physically supported her while she gave him emotional and financial support, caused much controversy.

“It has been reported that his allowance has been reduced. Rumor had it that his tenure at Royal Lodge in Windsor, his home, was in jeopardy.

“He is also reportedly trying to regain the police protection he lost when he stepped down from his royal duties.”

But Mr Fitzwilliams added: ‘It is important to emphasize that there is no possibility, as King Charles and Prince William have always realised, of him returning to public duties in any form.

“A look at his non-existent popularity ratings in the polls makes the public mood on this issue very clear.

‘What is emphasized, however, is harmony on a personal level and it is clear that he and his immediate family, who are also at Balmoral, will greatly appreciate this, especially as the photographs we see today are such a very public statement of togetherness are.’