Andrew has been sensationally stripped of his royal titles and been ordered to vacate Royal Lodge as pressure surrounding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein reached fever pitch
The scandal engulfing Andrew Mountbatten Windsor reached new lows when fresh claims about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein came to light earlier this month. And now King Charles has taken definitive action – essentially exiling his brother from royal life.
Leaked emails appeared to show that Andrew, now never to be called a prince again, had lied about exactly when he’d cut ties with the late paedophile, with more damming details expected in the Epstein files.
Further shame for the Royal Family came when Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim, released a posthumous memoir accusing Andrew of sexually assaulting her three times as a teenager – claims he strongly denies.
Buckingham Palace made a shock announcement on Thursday confirming that the formal process to legally strip Andrew’s royal titles has been put in motion. He will now go by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and has been struck from the official roll of peerage.
It’s understood that 65-year-old Andrew will now live in a property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which Charles will fund from his own private purse. Sarah Ferguson, who had lived with her ex-husband at the 30-room mansion, has also been turfed out and will be making her own living arrangements.
As the royal scandal comes to a head, here’s how it all unfolded behind Palace doors this week…
READ MORE: Prince Andrew LIVE: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie flee UK as dad loses titles
‘Game of Homes’ crisis
Tensions between the Palace and Andrew and Fergie’s camps became so dire that they erupted into a full-blown royal civil war behind the scenes, it has been claimed.
Charles is said to have made various attemps to convince Andrew to leave Royal Lodge, but the disgraced ex-Duke kept digging his heels in. For three years, his attemps to move his brother out were stalemate, and negotiations grew increasingly tense as more pressure grew to evict Andrew.
Each side was said to be briefing against one another as the brothers remained locked in a stand-off over the sprawling property.
During “advanced talks,” Andrew reporedly suggested he would give up Royal Lodge in exchange for Frogmore Cottage, the previous home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Decorators and workers have recently been seen working round the clock at the property. The 65-year-old was first offered the home when the Sussexes were evicted in 2023.
Meanwhile, Fergie, 66, is said to have requested Adelaide Cottage following Prince William and Kate’s expected move to Forest Lodge early next month – a move that left royal experts aghast.
However, a source close to Fergie insisted it was the palace that first offered her Adelaide Cottage in May. Royal sources quickly shut that claim down, stating that Adelaide Cottage was never offered to the ex-Duchess, the Sun reports.
The escalating ‘war of words’ was seen as a sign of the growing tension behind the scenes in what insiders labelled a “Game of Homes” royal housing nightmare.
The ongoing drama has also reportedly been labelled the “Siege of Royal Lodge” by some within the Palace.
A source told the publication: “The palace has been trying to get Andrew and Sarah to leave Royal Lodge for almost three years now. But it’s the ugliest it has ever been. Claims and counterclaims about who was offered what and when show it’s not going well.”
King’s U-turn on visit
King Charles almost met with Andrew at Royal Lodge to read him “the Riot Act” before delivering the final blow, it has been claimed.
Emily Maitlis, who famously grilled Andrew in his car-crash Newsnight interview, alleged the plan had been put in place when the King arrived back in the UK from his trip to the Vatican last week.
Last Thursday, broadcast crews and photographers gathered outside the gates of Royal Lodge amid speculation there could be an imminent development in the long-running controversy surrounding the late Queen’s second son.
Speaking on her News Agents podcast, Maitlis claimed that the media had gathered at Royal Lodge on the day the King prayed with together with Pope Leo in a historic moment after a “tip off”.
She said: “What we learned what was going to happen on Thursday was that Charles, fresh from the Vatican and his audience with the Pope, was going to come via Royal Lodge to be seen in other words, reading the riot act to his brother.”
“Nobody was going to film the conversation or see him stepping out the car but there was going to be the moment caught on camera of King Charles’s car heading to Royal Lodge.
“What happened, I understand, was that the Palace then got very nervous, and when they saw the choppers and helicopters, they thought this has all got too big, this has got out of control, they cancelled the whole thing. The King just went straight home and never came by.”
Beatrice and Eugenie flee UK
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie flew out of the country as their disgraced parents’ downfall unfolded.
Eugenie appears to be in Paris on a girls’ trip this week, with photographs showing the 35-year-old posing with pals on the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower providing a glamorous backdrop.
Meanwhile, elder sister Beatrice is in Saudi Arabia to attend the Future Investment Initiative event in the capital of Riyadh. Sunil Sharma, who hosts the Rational Voices with Sunil podcast, shared a snap of himself posing with the 37-year-old, writing: “A Royal Moment. Nice to meet and chat with HRH Princess Beatrice.”
Although Beatrice isn’t a working royal, it’s believed she likely attended the event on behalf of Afiniti, for which she serves as Vice President of Partnerships & Strategy.
As daughters of the son of a Sovereign, HRH Princess Beatrice and HRH Princess Eugenie will retain their titles in accordance with King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917.
Although they have retained their princess titles, the sisters’ lives will now undoubtedly have changed, and they must now face an unprecedented level of interest in their family life, through no fault of their own.
Discussing the toll this will likely take, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams noted: “This will be a deeply painful period for the sisters as their parents are both likely to languish in public disgrace and foreseeably so.”
In recent months, the siblings have become ‘rare visitors’ to Royal Lodge, and have maintained a “dignified silence” in the wake of he ongoing scandals. Instead, they are focusing their attention on raising their own young families, pursuing careers and trying to maintain some degree of normality.
William’s key role in Andrew’s downfall
Prince William helped his dad deliver the final humiliating blow to the King’s brother behind the scenes, according to an expert.
Andrew Lownie wrote a blistering biography of Andrew and Sarah that was released over the summer – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. The explosive book brought their private lives back under the microscope – including their friendships with Epstein, and their seemingly shady financial dealings.
Lownie told the Mirror that Prince William will have likely helped when it came to “stiffening” his father’s resolve that something more formal had to be done about Andrew, and that the disgraced former duke voluntarily giving up his titles was not enough, with Charles finally realising “how serious it is”.
“From what I know of him and his father, William would have played quite an active role in stiffening Charles’ resolve,” Lownie revealed. “But I think particularly after Charles was heckled and the continuing press coverage – which was a distraction from all the other things he wanted to do, like pray at the Vatican – he’s realised just how serious this is.”
Royal Lodge riddle
With Andrew moving out of Royal Lodge, questions remain about the future of the mansion, which, because of its close proximity to Windsor Castle, might be difficult to find a private tenant for.
Lownie explains that “this now raises all sorts of questions about what happens to Royal Lodge in the future, but I think in terms of addressing two of the concerns, about Andrew, the titles and the property, [the statement has] done that.”
Lownie believes that one possible solution could be for William himself to move into the property once his uncle has vacated it.
Previous reports have claimed that the Prince and Princess of Wales considered Royal Lodge as an option when they moved their young family from London to Windsor, in order to offer their children more privacy than their home of Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace could afford them.
The couple is poised to move into their “forever home” of Forest Lodge, which is not far from Royal Lodge, over the next few weeks – but Lownie believes that it would “make a lot of sense” for the couple to take on Sarah and Andrew’s former home instead.
“It would certainly make a lot of sense,” explains Lownie about the prospect of William and Kate taking on Royal Lodge, adding it is a “strong possibility”.
“I think they are worried about the optics of living in such a grand house. But in terms of given its position [near to Windsor Castle], it would make a lot more sense than Forest Lodge, so, yes, I suspect that is a strong possibility.”
However, the Mirror understands that the plan remains for the Wales family to move to Forest Lodge, and going elsewhere is unlikely.
Andrew ‘not moving for months’
Andrew is set to move into his new home on the Sandringham estate early in the New Year, according to The Telegraph.
The delay is reportedly designed to avoid an awkward reunion during the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas gathering at Sandringham.
Instead of living just a stone’s throw away in isolation at his new cottage, Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, will remain around 130 miles away in Windsor for the festive season.
Friends say the former prince is “sanguine” about the sweeping changes in his life. Those close to him note that he has spent the past 15 years enduring the gradual “slicing” away of his royal existence, and that there is some relief in finally living as a private citizen.
Having spent years under what some describe as “effective house arrest” at Royal Lodge, Andrew’s departure marks a turning point.
Andrew has ‘nothing left in family relationship’
An expert has warned that the unprecedented language used by the Palace in their bombshell statement on Thursday evening indicates Andrew has ‘nothing left’ to cling onto in the Royal Family.
Communications specialist and body language expert Judi James told The Mirror: “The wording of this statement is uncompromising, firm and clear.
“Unlike the previous statement that came from Andrew himself and which gave him a degree of control over things, making it sound as though it had been his choice to volunteer to step down, this statement’s specific choice of wording gives the impression that things are now being wrestled from his grasp.
“‘Formal notice has now been served…’ are words that do not imply choice or negotiation or agreement. The choice or wording provokes a mental image that this might have come as a shock to Andrew himself.
“The word ‘surrender’ in ‘to surrender the lease’ implies the same idea of someone being instructed, not making a choice.”
Delving into the language used, the expert continued: “‘These censures are deemed necessary…’ are words that have no air of family or sibling fondness. But that tone of emotional disassociation is set at the very start of the statement when we are told: ‘His Majesty has today initiated a formal process…’
“There are no words in this statement to hint or imply there will be anything left in terms of a family relationship now.”
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