Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor won’t be making Sandringham his new permanent home after being kicked out of his Windsor mansion, according to an explosive new claim.
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie, who published Entitled, the bombshell book delving into the scandals of the former Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson earlier this year, believes Andrew will soon be leaving Britain entirely.
For years, Andrew had refused to budge from his sprawling Royal Lodge home in Windsor – where he lives with his ex-wife – despite pressure from the King and increasing public scrutiny. However, he was finally given his eviction notice and stripped of his titles by his brother last month as the outcry hit fever pitch.
It was then widely reported that the disgraced former prince would be relocating to one of the King’s private residences on the Sandringham estate, in Norfolk in England’s east.
But according to Lownie, this is not likely to be a long-term plan.
“I personally don’t think that he’s going to end up at Sandringham, I think that charges will be brought against him and he will flee to the Middle East or somewhere … but that’s only me speculating,” he told the Mirror.
In the meantime, Lownie noted, Andrew might be downgrading from his palatial royal home – but he’ll still be living very comfortably.
“He’s not going to a house that is that much smaller,” he said.
“He’s not going to a two-up, two down. He’s going to have staff, I think that they’re playing all this down but he’s not going to be shopping in (budget supermarketr) Lidl. He’s going to be paid quite a lot of money to move.”
As Lownie explained, Andrew has maintained connections with the United Arab Emirates over the years, and has a close friendship with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whom he first met in 2001.
Lownies’s prediction about Andrew’s future away from Britain has also been supported by Andrew Morton, who told teh UK’s Times Radio recently that “this time next year, Andrew will probably live somewhere abroad”.
The years-long scandal surrounding Andrew had reignited last month as a result of a leaked email from the former prince to Jeffrey Epstein, weeks after the date he’d declared they’d cut off all contact with each other. The leaked email also coincided with the release of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl, in which she detailed her alleged sexual encounters with Andrew, one of which she claimed happened when she was just 17 years old.
Andrew has always denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
In recent days, it’s been reported that authorities in Britain are hunting for any emails, phone records or notebooks from his personal protection officers after the resurfacing of an email written by the former prince amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein.
According to The Sun, London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating claims that Andrew requested his police bodyguard “dig up dirt” on sex trafficking victim Ms Giuffre, purportedly handing over her date of birth and confidential US social security number in a bid to discredit her, in 2011.
In an email leaked last month, it ws said that Andrew reportedly told the late Queen’s then-deputy press secretary, Ed Perkins, what he had done.
There has not been any suggestion that Andrew’s request was acted upon. However, if it was, it could potentially be an offence of misconduct in public office, and the former Duke of York could face allegations of assisting in the charge.
The Sun reports that the Met development “could pave the way for a full investigation into historic trafficking for sexual exploitation”.
Authorities have declined to do so for the past 10 years, and Andrew has never been interviewed by police over his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein.
“As part of the initial examination of the case, officers are currently trying to establish what material is available,” a source told The Sun.
“They are actively seeking to find emails and communications from Andrew’s royalty protection team, as well as their notebooks.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
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