Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could move out of his Royal Lodge home within a matter of weeks, after a removal van was spotted at his Windsor mansion on Wednesday.
In pictures published by The Sun, a large white van was pictured at the gates of the 30-room mansion as renovation work takes place at Marsh Farm in Sandringham – the property the former Prince is expected to move to.
Six-foot wooden security fences and lights have been erected around the property on the King’s Norfolk estate, while a Sky TV dish was also being installed.
Marsh Farm is actually located in the area of Wolferton, two miles west of the monarch’s Sandringham House, near the Wood Farm estate, where the late Prince Philip chose to live during his retirement.
According to the newspaper, Andrew is expected to vacate his Windsor home before his 66th birthday on 19 February.
In December, it emerged that the former Duke gave the minimum 12 months’ notice that he would surrender Royal Lodge on 30 October 2025 – the day he was stripped of all of his titles. While this means that Andrew could potentially remain at the property until October this year, HELLO! understands the move will take place as soon as practicable.
The King had long tried to encourage Andrew, who shared Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, to move out, but he had signed a watertight, 75-year lease on the property in 2003.
His leasehold agreement revealed he paid £1 million for the lease and that since then he paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year.
Andrew’s downfall
Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview over his connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But the US government’s release of documents from Epstein’s estate brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier.
© Getty ImagesThe former Prince has for many years faced allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. Andrew strenuously denies the accusations.
The scandals led to the King officially stripping his disgraced brother of both his HRH style and his prince title.
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