Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor gets one last Christmas at Royal Lodge… with royal sources admitting his presence on the King’s private Norfolk estate over the festive season would have been ‘suboptimal’

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will have one last Christmas at his Royal Lodge home at Windsor.

It means the former Duke of York will not be moving to Sandringham, and into permanent royal exile, until well into the New Year.

The Royal Family will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief at the news, with sources admitting that the ex-prince’s presence on the King’s private Norfolk estate during the festive season, when most of the senior royals are in residence, would have been ‘suboptimal’.

Announcing the King’s decision to strip his brother of his remaining royal titles and secure his departure from Windsor last month, Buckingham Palace said only that the move would take place ‘as soon as practicable’.

Now the Daily Mail has confirmed that it will not happen this side of Christmas, with Andrew not completing his move to Sandringham until some time in 2026.

Sources have indicated that the ‘practicalities’ of packing up his belongings at ten-bedroom Royal Lodge, where he has lived on the Windsor Estate for more than 30 years, and moving to his undisclosed new home were ‘quite a substantial logistical process, if nothing else’.

He also needs to negotiate the ending of his 75-year lease on the property from the Crown Estate early, which some fear could see him in line to collect compensation given the work he has already carried out on the property.

But happily, it will also take Andrew – who has now lost everything over his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – out of the picture when the Royal Family gather in Norfolk on Christmas Eve for their annual festive break.

Sources have indicated that the ‘practicalities’ of packing up his belongings at Royal Lodge and moving to his undisclosed new home were ‘quite a substantial logistical process, if nothing else’

Senior royals then walk with the King to church on Christmas morning before enjoying a meal back at Sandringham House.

A source said the situation could have proved ‘quite awkward’ at a time when Andrew quite clearly isn’t welcome.

‘He won’t be anywhere near the Big House [the nickname given to the monarch’s home at Sandringham],’ they confirmed.

While the move to the estate won’t happen imminently for logistical reasons, they explained, people were also acutely aware any physical proximity to his family at such a special time of year would make his exclusion ‘seem even more barbed’.

Sandringham was chosen because it is the sovereign’s personal estate, meaning that Andrew’s living arrangements can be sorted – and, crucially, funded – completely privately.

Royal Lodge was leased from the Crown Estate, the profits of which are returned to the Government for public spending, which had made his ‘peppercorn rent’ deal all the more controversial. The Palace will not reveal his new location for security reasons.

It emerged that Prince Edward pays a peppercorn rent for 51-acre Bagshot Park, the Surrey mansion he has leased from the Crown Estate for 25 years.

He paid £5million up front for a lease of 150 years but pays only a peppercorn rent, according to the terms of his lease extension that was signed in 2007 with his company, Eclipse Nominees Limited, The Times reported.