Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has moved out of Royal Lodge. The former prince left his home of 24 years on Monday night and is currently living at Wood Farm Cottage on the Sandringham Estate.
The 65-year-old’s permanent home, Marsh Farm, is currently undergoing renovations. Construction workers have been seen at the site and its understood that the property is having its security measures increased. This includes the installation of a CCTV system and the addition of six-foot wooden fences. A no-fly zone around Sandringham has been extended to include Marsh Farm.
Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein
It comes just three months after the King stripped his younger brother of all of his titles, styles and honours following a string of scandals.
Andrew had been embroiled in controversy for years over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations, which he denies, that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager and had been trafficked by Epstein.
© Getty ImagesMs Giuffre’s death by suicide in April, her posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl and the release of documents and emails relating to Epstein intensified the focus on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s second son.
It emerged he emailed Epstein telling him, “We are in this together” in 2011, three months after he claimed he had broken off all contact with the sex offender.
In the latest disclosure of files linked to Epstein, the former prince was pictured leaning over a woman who was lying on the floor. The images have no caption but appear to show the former duke touching the woman’s abdomen. It is not known where or when they were taken.
Stepping away from his public role
Andrew stepped away from his public role in 2019 and later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre, whom Andrew claimed never to have met despite being pictured with his arm around her at now-convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London.
© GettyIn 2022, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, ordered him to stop using his HRH style and removed his honorary military roles.
Andrew agreed to no longer use his Duke of York title in October, but the King went a step further a fortnight later and dramatically stripped him of both his right to be a prince and his dukedom, making Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor a commoner for the first time.
As part of the announcement, Andrew finally agreed to quit Royal Lodge for a new home on the King’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk. There had been growing pressure for the former Prince to give up his 30-room mansion after it emerged he had been paying a “peppercorn” rent for decades.
© Getty ImagesSarah Ferguson’s living arrangements
Meanwhile, Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who had resided with him at Royal Lodge, is said to have made her own living arrangements.
A source told HELLO! last month that Sarah will not be joining Andrew when he moves to Norfolk. “She has stood by him all these years but is now ready to spread her wings,” they said.
© Getty“She won’t be moving in with him to the new house on the Sandringham Estate. She won’t be moving into Beatrice’s Cotswolds home though. Eugenie’s home in Portugal is a contender while she finds somewhere.”
The former Duchess of York was also criticised for writing to Epstein after his conviction calling him a “supreme friend”, despite publicly disowning him in the media.
Sarah’s emails to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were included in documents published by the US Department of Justice on Friday. The emails included messages reading “just marry me” and comments about her daughters.
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