Former Prince Andrew was quietly planning an ambitious refurbishment of Royal Lodge just a year before his dramatic fall from royal favor, with sources telling OK! he had even enlisted the design expertise of his daughter Princess Beatrice‘s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, to modernize the crumbling Windsor estate.
Andrew, 65 – now known only as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after his older brother King Charles, 77, stripped him of his royal titles in October as punishment for his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – had been living at the sprawling 31-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park since 2008 when, last year, he began exploring plans to overhaul the 17th-century property.
His 37-year-old daughter Beatrice’s property developer husband Mapelli Mozzi, 42, was seen visiting the residence several times in November to advise on potential upgrades.
At the time, Andrew was still clinging to his status within the royal fold, even as scrutiny over his ties to Epstein intensified.
But after Charles also ordered him out of the $40 million Lodge as further punishment for his ties to the late s– trafficker, sources have told us Andrew was planning to remain at the mansion for life and was eager to improve its condition.
One insider said: “Before Charles’ order to vacate the Lodge, Andrew felt relief at being permitted to stay put and started thinking long-term, including how to bring the house up to modern standards.”
A palace source added: “Given Edoardo’s experience in high-end property development, it made sense for Andrew to bounce ideas off him about how a house of that scale could be refreshed.”
Mapelli Mozzi, the founder and creative director of Banda Property, was well placed to advise on renovations. Royal Lodge has been left to rot for years, with visible cracks and mold on exterior walls.
A royal source has acknowledged a “lot of work needs doing,” to restore it to its former glory.
Andrew is now expected to move into a private and much humbler, smaller residence on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, marking his transition into life as a “commoner.”
The episode has also cast a spotlight on Mapelli Mozzi, who shares daughters Sienna and Athena with Beatrice, and also has a son, Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, with his former partner Dara Huang.
Beatrice often refers to Wolfie as her “bonus son.”
Since the Epstein crisis engulfed his father-in-law, Mapelli Mozzi has kept a low public profile, appearing just once alongside Beatrice at a charity event for Borne in London last November.
Beatrice has continued limited engagements, including visits connected to the charity, which holds personal significance as the organization linked to the hospital where she gave birth to Athena.
Friends say Mapelli Mozzi has refocused on his business, primarily using social media primarily to promote Banda Property’s multimillion-dollar developments.
One source said: “Right now, his focus is on keeping things steady for his own family. Whatever role he may once have played in Andrew’s ideas has been completely left behind.”
During his engagement to Beatrice, announced in 2019, Mapelli Mozzi was praised by Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, 66, as a “completely devoted friend” and “loyal young man.”
Andrew has been slammed for letting Royal Lodge fall into its current state of disrepair.
Sources say Charles has given him to the start of February to vacate the sprawling mansion, which he has spent years sharing with Ferguson despite the pair being divorced for decades.
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