Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has moved out of Royal Lodge in Windsor and relocated to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
The former prince left the Windsor property on Monday night and is currently staying in temporary accommodation on the Sandringham Estate while renovations are carried out on what is expected to become his permanent residence. He is believed to ultimately settle at Marsh Farm, also located on the estate.
Buckingham Palace announced in October that Mountbatten-Windsor would vacate Royal Lodge, coinciding with the removal of his princely title. At the time, the palace confirmed that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease.”
Although he is expected to return to Windsor in the coming weeks to collect remaining personal belongings, royal sources say his permanent base is now officially in Norfolk. He was last seen in Windsor on Monday, riding on horseback near Royal Lodge, and was photographed later driving away from the area while waving at passers-by.
The move follows weeks of controversy surrounding the terms of the Royal Lodge lease. A National Audit Office report revealed that when Mountbatten-Windsor took on the 75-year lease in 2003, he paid more than £8 million upfront for repairs, effectively offsetting future rent obligations. The deal was based on a notional annual rent of £260,000.
Under the agreement, Mountbatten-Windsor could have been entitled to nearly £488,000 in compensation for an early surrender of the lease. However, a subsequent Crown Estate report to MPs concluded that the property requires such extensive repairs that he is unlikely to receive any compensation.
The Sandringham Estate is privately owned by the King, who will cover the costs associated with his brother’s new home. Royal sources previously indicated that the relocation was delayed until the new year to avoid the embarrassment of Mountbatten-Windsor being present at Sandringham during Christmas, when the Royal Family traditionally gathers there.
Sandringham was purchased in 1862 by the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, as a private retreat. The estate spans approximately 31 square miles, making it roughly the same size as Nottingham.
Mountbatten-Windsor continues to face scrutiny over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thames Valley Police is currently assessing allegations, as reported that a woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor at Royal Lodge in 2010. The woman, who is not British, was in her twenties at the time.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing and has not responded to a recent request for comment. The woman’s lawyer, Brad Edwards, said she alleges that after spending the night at Royal Lodge, she was given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace. This is the first time an Epstein survivor has claimed a sexual encounter took place at a royal residence.
In 2014, Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse Mountbatten-Windsor of similar conduct, alleging she was trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied the claims. Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit in the US in 2021, which was settled in February 2022 for an estimated £12 million. She died last year.
Renewed attention has followed the release of millions of pages of documents by the US Department of Justice, including images and emails allegedly linking Mountbatten-Windsor to Epstein in the years after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor. Epstein died in a New York prison cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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