Booted from Royal Lodge early, shamed Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will temporarily reside at Wood Farm Cottage, in what marks a gloomy new chapter for one of the most melancholy of royal households
Following his nighttime flit from Royal Lodge, shamed Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has begun his new life at The Firm’s saddest residence.
Andrew fled from his Windsor Great Park mansion earlier than anticipated after it emerged police are now reviewing fresh allegations that Jeffrey Epstein sent a woman to have sex with the disgraced former prince at the 30-bedroom grace and favour home. A Thames Valley police spokesperson has stated: “We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. We are assessing the information in line with our established procedures. We take any reports of sexual crimes extremely seriously and encourage anyone with information to come forward. At this time, these allegations have not been reported to Thames Valley police by either the lawyer [of the woman] or their client.”
Until recently, the former Duke of York had resided at the £30 million Royal Lodge alongside his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who once famously declared they were the “happiest divorced couple in the world“. Their odd arrangement came to a screeching halt in October, however, when it emerged the former duke and duchess were leaving their post-marital home behind amid a wave of scandal over their friendship with paedophile Epstein. It’s believed the 65-year-old was booted out earlier than expected by his elder brother, King Charles, after a new batch of Epstein documents included an email seemingly written by Ghislaine Maxwell that confirmed the infamous picture of Andrew with his arm around Epstein trafficking victim Virgina Guiffre was real. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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It’s now expected that, for the time being, Andrew will lie low at Wood Farm Cottage. Wood Farm may well bring to mind another humiliating episode in the saga of Andrew and Sarah’s complicated relationship. In August 1992, just five months after the Yorks announced their separation, photographs emerged which showed Fergie reclining in a deckchair while her American financial advisor, John Bryan, appeared to kiss and suck her toes and the arch of her foot. The late Prince Philip was so incensed by his daughter-in-law’s antics that he barred her from the traditional Christmas celebrations at majestic Sandringham.
Instead, Sarah kept one toe in the festivities, so to speak, by dining alone at Wood Farm, a five-bedroom cottage located on a particularly secluded part of the 20,000-acre Sandringham Estate. It was here that the now 66-year-old stayed with her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who were permitted to attend the grand gathering at Sandringham House.
Although a pretty residence with sea views, this is far from the most desirable of the royal properties, particularly given its rather gloomy reputation as a convenient bolthole for divorced spouses. It also has a somewhat tragic history, being the death place of a forgotten family member who was kept out of the public eye for a very different reason.
Prince John, the youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary, is nowadays rarely discussed, but those paying a visit to the neighbouring St Mary Magdalene Church may well stumble across the 13-year-old’s gravestone.
Born in the summer of 1905 to parents King George V and Queen Mary, little John was the youngest of six, and it wasn’t long until the family noticed he was different. By the time they celebrated his fourth birthday in 1909, John, known as “Johnnie” to loved ones, was described as “winsome” and “painfully slow.” That same year, the boy experienced his first epileptic seizure and also began to exhibit signs of what experts now believe may have been a severe form of autism.
Up until the age of 11, John made regular public appearances with his family; he was absent from his parents’ 1911 coronation, and no official portraits were commissioned of him after 1913. Instead, the boy led a secluded life at Wood Farm, under the watchful eye of his nanny, Charlotte ‘Lala’ Bill. It was here that the so-called ‘lost prince’ enjoyed caring for chickens and receiving visits from his grandmother, Queen Alexandra, who kept a garden for him there. As per the 2012 book George VI, by Denis Judd, John became “a satellite with his own little household on an outlying farm on the Sandringham estate”.
Christmas Day 1918 would sadly prove to be the young prince’s last. He spent the day with the rest of the family at Sandringham House, returning to the privacy of Wood Farm that same evening. Less than one month later, on January 18, 1919, Prince John died in his sleep at the cottage after suffering a severe seizure. A Mirror article dated January 20, 1919, which made the first public mention of the child’s epilepsy, read, “when the Prince passed away, his face bore an angelic smile”.
Through a 21st-century lens, keeping John away from the world at Wood Farm is viewed as a cold-hearted move. However, as previously explained to the Mirror by the British Epilepsy Society, this wouldn’t have been an unusual decision at the time. A spokesperson said, “At that time, people with epilepsy were put apart from the rest of the community. They were often put in epilepsy colonies or mental institutions. It was thought to be a form of mental illness.”
Despite its somewhat melancholy past, however, Wood Farm Cottage held a special place in the hearts of Andrew’s late parents. Prince Philip is said to have enjoyed the relative informality of this more laid-back abode, where he spent his retirement pursuing favourite hobbies such as reading and watercolour painting, while enjoying regular visits from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson previously told The Mirror: “The Grade II-listed Wood Farm, located on a secluded part of the Queen’s Sandringham Estate looking out to sea, has long been a bolthole for the Queen and her late husband Prince Philip. It is where the Queen, Philip, and their four children went to relax for more than 50 years. And, of course, it is where Philip made his retirement home in his twilight years with the Queen’s blessing. The Queen was known to cook and even do dishes while she was staying there.
“With its simple furnishings and open fires, it is a lot less formal than life at Windsor, Buckingham Palace and even Balmoral, although it is spacious enough. When Philip was there, he didn’t stand on ceremony, and servants didn’t wear the usual royal uniforms.”
The Mail Online reports that Andrew will be staying at the cottage until Easter, when the work on Marsh Farm, a more permanent residence, is scheduled to be completed. Outlining the current situation with The Sun, a palace insider revealed: “The snow or rain hasn’t delayed the work on Marsh Farm, but it still needs a lot of attention to make it habitable. But one thing for sure is that it is a lot, lot smaller and less luxurious than Royal Lodge.”
A friend told the publication: “He had planned to cling on at Royal Lodge a little longer, but with the latest batch of Epstein files, it was made clear to him that it was time to go. Leaving was so humiliating for him that he chose to do it under the cover of darkness. He didn’t want to have a big emotional goodbye, even though Royal Lodge is a place where he had so many family memories.”
It would appear that not everyone at the sprawling Sandringham estate will be welcoming disgraced Andrew with open arms, with royal servants reportedly being reassured that they can reject serving him “if they feel uncomfortable”. A source told The Sun: “They’ve been told they don’t have to serve Andrew or work for him if they feel uncomfortable. There is already quite a list saying no thanks. There is understandably a lot of disquiet as he is now a total pariah. But there is also a worry that once he gets comfortable at Wood Farm, while Marsh Farm is being finished, they will never get him out again.”
It’s understood that many of Andrew’s long-serving Windsor staff will be axed following this move, with many not wishing to make the move to Norfolk. “People who have been with him for years are off,” a source said. “It will likely be a skeleton staff at best. It’s possible for the first time in his life he will have to open the front door to people himself.”
The Mirror has approached Sarah Ferguson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the Palace for comment. Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing.
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