It’s official: Prince Andrew is no longer a prince. He’s now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and along with the demotion, there is a change in his royal residence.
On Oct. 30, King Charles III pulled what The Australian described as the “nuclear option” by exiling Andrew from the royal family ranks for good. The disgraced royal was told on Thursday that his time was up at Royal Lodge, and he’s now a commoner in the U.K.
Andrew is headed to an unnamed home on his brother’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England, that is privately owned and not held by the Crown Estate, which would have caused more controversy. Charles is essentially sending his younger brother 140 miles away from Buckingham Palace in London, and far from the life he formerly lived. But Andrew won’t suffer since Charles is picking up the tab for him.
Sandringham Estate.
Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
The exodus of Andrew also begs the question of what will happen to Sarah Ferguson, who has been living with her ex-husband in Royal Lodge since 2008. She is on her own to find a new home and will not be making the move to Sandringham, per People.
Despite divorcing in 1996, the former couple remained a united front when it came to their financial goals. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams explained the unusual arrangement to the Daily Mail ahead of their Royal Lodge eviction.
“It’s lucrative for both of them to be together. The point is that this has been an arrangement of convenience to enable them to live at a certain level,” he said. “They’ve kept that facade up very well. My feeling is that it was because they are extremely greedy. I think the problem was they desired a certain lifestyle – and this was the main way to get it.”
More on Prince Andrew’s downfall:
Ferguson presented the unorthodox living situation as them being the “happiest divorced couple in the world,” but their consistent friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, even after his pedophilia conviction, showed a darker side to their relationship. Now, “this cover is blown,” said Fitzwilliams.
The original idea to send to Andrew to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former residence, Frogmore Cottage, and Ferguson to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s soon-to-be former home, Adelaide Cottage, was nothing but a pipe dream to stay in royal circles. Charles finally put his foot down and ended their elite financial facade.
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