For months, pressure mounted on the royal family to speak out on Andrew’s ties with Jeffrey Epstein. When they did, another crisis seemed to be waiting in line.
The President of Nigeria is set to visit Windsor next month. The visit will mark the African country’s first visit to the UK in nearly four decades.
Hence, the pressure is high. But the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, a council that governs the castle, says it will not fund any more state visits.
The row began over funding state visits to Windsor between the local and central government. As the council claims it spent at least £350,000 on visits in 2025, and Whitehall is yet to reimburse the amount.
“While we appreciate the wider impact this may have for our multi-agency partners, with planning already underway for the visit in March by the president of Nigeria, we don’t have a budget for this support,” the council tells the BBC.
“And, quite simply, local taxpayers can’t continue to be expected to shoulder the burden of decisions made by government to host state visits in Windsor.”
Lynne Jones, the council’s deputy leader, says they are in talks with the government about the upcoming visit, but if they do not reimbursed the amount, the authority will provide what she warns are “the basics” services.
“We’re not prepared to go beyond that without that formal reassurance that the costs will be reimbursed,” she shares.
Jones, though, adds that the council likes to host the events at Windsor Castle, but she says they should not be held at our residents’ cost.
“We enjoy the events that are here. We understand that Windsor Castle is a big draw.”
“We like the fact that our borough hosts these events – and we’re very very successful at doing them – but we really cannot accept that our residents are having to pay for a central government event.”
It is worth noting that last year Windsor Castle hosted high-profile figures, including Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
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