Windsor, United Kingdom. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has moved out of Royal Lodge on the royal estate in Windsor, a royal source said on Wednesday, after renewed revelations about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein intensified pressure on Britain’s royal family.
Move from Windsor to Sandringham
His departure from Royal Lodge, where he had lived for decades, follows years of scrutiny over his connections to Epstein. The Sun newspaper reported that Mountbatten-Windsor, 65, had hoped to stay at the 30-room Georgian mansion for longer but moved out on Monday and was driven to a cottage in Sandringham, the king’s estate in Norfolk, in eastern England.
A royal source confirmed the move to Norfolk and said he might occasionally return to Windsor in the coming weeks while a transitionary phase was completed.
Denials and police review
Mountbatten-Windsor, who had recently been pictured riding his horse in Windsor, west of London, has always denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Thames Valley Police said on Tuesday they were reviewing a new allegation against Andrew following the latest release of files by the U.S. Justice Department.
The Sun quoted an unnamed friend as saying: “With the latest batch of Epstein files it was made clear to him that it was time to go,” adding that leaving was “so humiliating” that he chose to do it “under the cover of darkness.”
Removal from public duties and past legal settlement
Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, was removed from public life after he quit all official royal duties in 2019. Three years later, he settled a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager; he has denied her account. The allegations gained prominence again last year with the release of her posthumous memoir.
Royal action and loss of title
Further releases of Epstein files in the U.S. last year led King Charles to act, and in October he stripped Andrew of his title of prince and said he would be removed from Royal Lodge, in what was described as one of the most dramatic moves against a member of the royal family in modern British history.
What do you think the move from Royal Lodge to Sandringham means for the royal family’s handling of this scrutiny?
