Prince Andrew is set to relocate to King Charles’s 8,000-hectare Sandringham estate in Norfolk after it was announced that he is to leave the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor and be stripped of his remaining titles.
His new accommodation will be privately funded by the King, while Sarah Ferguson must now find her own residence, despite Andrew’s demands that a home be provided for his ex-wife too.
The move follows weeks of mounting public criticism over Andrew’s longstanding friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the sexual abuse allegations made by the late Virginia Giuffre, which he has strenuously denied.
He has also faced severe scrutiny from MPs and the public after it was revealed that he hadn’t paid rent at Royal Lodge in more than 20 years.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
“Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease, and he will move to alternative private accommodation.
Now, the former prince will move to a private property on the vast 8,000-hectare Sandringham estate in the Norfolk countryside.
The private estate, which has served as the private home of five generations of British monarchs for more than 150 years, is often used to host family engagements, including Christmas.
Sandringham was a beloved retreat of Queen Elizabeth II and is now a favourite of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
King George V once described Sandringham as “the place I love better than anywhere else in the world”.
The estate is open to the public, and includes an organic farm, a sawmill, a museum, gardens, and more than 100 residential properties. It is unclear which of these properties Andrew will move into, but it is likely to be a downsize from the 30-room mansion he has lived in for more than 20 years.
The main property on the estate is Sandringham House, which was purchased by Queen Victoria in 1862 for the then Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. The house was extensively rebuilt in 1870 to ensure that it was big enough for his growing family.
It is typically used as a country residence for the royal family. Elizabeth would spend her winter months at Sandringham, and King Charles also spent time there during his treatment for cancer.
Sandringham’s vast surrounding estate is home to 150 properties, including Wood Farm, a five-bedroom farmhouse, which some have speculated could be Andrew’s next home.
According to its website, the estate contains a number of villages and hamlets, including West Newton and Sherborne, and its residential properties are let to people living and working in the area.
Three of these homes are currently listed to let, including a two-bedroom red brick terraced house in Flitcham village, available for £975 per calendar month.
One of the estate’s larger residences is Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom country house given as a wedding gift to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It is understood that Andrew will move into a property on the estate “as soon as practicable”. His move to Sandringham is also said to include an “appropriate” private provision from the King, while any other source of income will be a matter for Andrew himself.
