Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was reportedly spirited out of his longtime home at Royal Lodge in the middle of the night.
According to royal sources for the Daily Mail, the former prince was “dispatched by car to the depths of Norfolk” on Monday amid the ongoing Epstein scandal.
“It was hastily arranged and done under the radar, leaving Royal Lodge staff to pack up what remains of Andrew’s belongings,” an insider told the outlet on Saturday of the move, which reportedly saw Andrew moving to temporary housing on Wood Farm at Sandringham in Norfolk.
A source told the outlet that the decision was made by Prince William and King Charles on Sunday evening following an “urgent discussion” at Sandringham.
Now, Andrew is said to be waiting on renovations on a permanent residence at March Farm, though royal author Andrew Lownie told Page Six last month that Andrew could end up further away than Marsh Farm following the ongoing scandal.
The “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York” author told us he’s heard that the exiled prince will relocate to Bahrain.
The BBC reported earlier this week that the former prince was seen in Windsor horseback riding on Monday near Royal Lodge, and caught by photographers waving at bystanders while driving away from Windsor Castle.
“Waving at the public harked back to his royal days when he was used to adulation and respect,” an insider told the Daily Mail on Saturday.
“Andrew is having difficulty acknowledging reality and it was increasingly causing concern at the Palace – both as a sign of his mental state and because it wouldn’t play well with the public witnessing him still enjoying the trappings of royalty.”
Buckingham Palace did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
Back in October, an announcement was made that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on Royal Lodge. Andrew was also stripped of the titles of “Duke of York” and “prince” at the time by King Chrarles.
“His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
The statement continued, “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Andrew’s official move from his longtime home comes following the release of new documents and allegations regarding late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, the DOJ released more than 3 million records on Epstein, who died in prison at the age of 66 in 2019.
Among them are a photo of Andrew crouched over an unidentified woman lying underneath him, an email seemingly confirming the authenticity of a 2001 photo of then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre with Andrew, and an email containing crude comments by Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, regarding their daughter Eugenie, who was 19 at the time.
The Thames Valley Police are now reportedly assessing allegations of an incident said to have occurred at Mountbatten-Windsor’s former residence back in 2010, though the ex-prince has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing.
Friends told Page Six on Tuesday that Andrew and Ferguson’s daughter Princess Eugenie, 35, is struggling amid the ongoing scandal. “I know that Eugenie feels like she’s being tarnished with a brush that’s not hers, that’s her father’s,” a friend shared with us. “She’s very, very frustrated.”
Meanwhile, sources told the Daily Mail in comments published Saturday that Andrew is “avoiding news reports.”
“He firmly believes he’s done nothing wrong and definitely feels hard done by and too harshly treated,” the source told the outlet.
“Unlike others who have expressed regret for associating with Epstein, he still refuses to do so. Apologising to Epstein’s victims would imply guilt.”
As for Ferugson, whom the outlet reported had been “secretly slipping in and out of Royal Lodge in recent weeks,” author Lownie told the outlet she’s likely to have fled abroad. “When there’s a scandal, she runs away,” he said. “She’s done it repeatedly.”
He added, “He’s no longer useful to her. He’s too toxic. It was fine when she could live at Royal Lodge and co-parent their daughters – all of that was lucrative for her but now that’s all over, she’s cut loose.”
