Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s rarely-seen secret swimming pool at Royal Lodge

Before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor relocated to Norfolk, he was the long-term resident of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, a sprawling Grade-II listed Georgian mansion boasting over 30 bedrooms and 98 acres of land. 

Signing a 75-year lease in 2003, the brother of King Charles called the palatial property his home for over 20 years and shared the space with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, before he was evicted and had his titles stripped last November by his sibling. 

The former prince, Andrew, is currently staying at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate while he waits for the completion of renovations on Marsh Farm, his soon-to-be permanent residence, also on the privately owned royal land. 

Back down south, many aspects of the Windsor-based palatial property stand out; however, it is the existence of a swimming pool that formed the basis of many a royal memory as the late Queen’s mother enjoyed the grounds during the summer months with her young family. 

Rarely photographed, the only pictures available of the secret swimming pool are from the 1940s in black and white. 

One such picture shows a very young Queen Elizabeth helping her father, who was King George VI at the time, operate a swimming pool stirrup pump while the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret watched on next to them. 

Another image shows the late Queen alongside her sister and their father collecting water from the pool. The water feature is positioned at the bottom of a gentle rolling bank, creating an idyllic setting for an outdoor dip.

Royal Lodge and its features were considered magical by many members of the royal family, with Prince Harry writing in his memoir, Spare, about the Queen Mother’s final resting place: “It was Pa who told me she’d been confined to her bed at Royal Lodge, the sprawling country house in which she’d lived part-time for the last fifty years, when she wasn’t at her main residence, Clarence House. 

“Royal Lodge was three miles south of Windsor Castle, still in Windsor Great Park, still part of the Crown Estate, but like the castle, it had one foot in another world. Dizzyingly high ceilings. Pebbled driveway winding serenely through vivid gardens.”

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Andrew’s move to Norfolk 

On 2 February, Andrew left Royal Lodge and made his way towards the seaside to the Norfolk-based Sandringham Estate and the Wood Farm cottage. 

While no official move-in date has been set for his settling into Marsh Farm, it is believed he will turn the key on his new home in April. 

Plenty of renovations have been carried out at the farmhouse, with carpet fitters and Sky TV entering the property to install various bits and pieces ahead of the former prince’s arrival. 

© POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A double layer of protection was recently added to his soon-to-be permanent residence when he erected a large fence in front of an old country swinging gate that was already in place on the grounds. 

The addition of the tall double-doored gate means only the roof of the father-of-two’s newest home is visible when standing on the path outside the Wolferton property.