Featured Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Topics: Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Royal Family
Phoebe Tonks
Topics: Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Royal Family
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced former British royal, has moved out of his home in Windsor to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
The former prince, who was stripped of his titles last October, is understood to have left Royal Lodge on Monday night and is currently living in a temporary property on the Sandringham Estate while his permanent home undergoes renovations.
Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would be leaving his home at Royal Lodge last October, after his position within the royal family became untenable in light of the allegations against him.
Scrutiny over Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein have increasingly led to tensions among both senior royals and the public alike, with pressure also mounting for Andrew to give evidence in the US over his relationship with the pedophile financier.
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Andrew has always strenuously denied any allegations of wrongdoing and downplayed his connections to the late businessman, who died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019.
However, with the latest release of documents relating to the financier, including pictures appearing to show Andrew kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the ground, questions have once again been raised over his dealings with Epstein.
Several email exchanges between Epstein and Andrew - which came in the years after the US billionaire pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor - were also published in the files, causing a further headache for the royal family.
Formal notice to leave Royal Lodge was given back in October, amid a contentious public debate over the amount of rent being paid to the Crown Estate who leased the property.
Under his previous rental arrangement, Andrew paid a nominal rent of just £1 ($1.37) a year, despite the property being worth £30 million to £40 million ($37 million–$57 million).
While the UK taxpayer was not responsible for paying this £1 sum, the loss of a sizeable rental income, which would otherwise be directed to the treasury – did mean the British taxpayers were technically at a loss.
Further questions were also raised over whether any taxpayer money had been used to fund over £2million ($2.73 million) worth of repairs to the property.
Andrew was last seen in Windsor on Monday (February 2) riding on horseback, and was later spotted driving away from Windsor Castle while waving to passers by.
While no details have been officially confirmed about Andrew’s new home, it is believed he will now be moving Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate.
The estate is privately owned by King Charles and he will pay the costs of his brother's new home.