Andrew Windsor’s status is slipping though his fingers – but he’s determined to cling on to some magisterial comforts (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Andrew Windsor is refusing to ditch his regal lifestyle despite being booted out of Royal Lodge and stripped of his titles.
The former Duke of York has insisted that a team of staff – including a cook, housekeeper, a secretary-cum butler and gardeners – join him on his exile to Sandringham, the Daily Mail has reported.
The late Queen’s third child also wants the right to roam, rather than being confined to quarters, an insider reportedly revealed.
Andrew, whose relationship with the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has threatened to tarnish the Royals’ image, will wave goodbye to his 30-room Windsor mansion in the coming weeks.
‘Andrew will certainly go quietly and allow the Royal Family to save face,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
‘But he has conditions and he isn’t prepared to give much ground on them.’
The 65-year-old has spent his final weeks at Royal Lodge ‘ranting to himself’ while ex-wife Sarah Ferguson takes refuge in a secret bar called The Doghouse, sources have told The Sun.
Sources told the paper that the former Duke and Duchess of York sleep at opposite ends of the 30-room mansion, only meeting at mealtimes to discuss their futures.
The disgraced former prince is often heard ‘padding about’ the huge home since brother King Charles removed his and Fergie’s titles.
Ferguson, who was pulled further into the sordid Epstein affair after the Mail on Sunday reported she’d contacted him after his conviction, is often heard confiding in staff at the estate’s hidden bar.
A source told The Sun: ‘She drinks in there with friends and staff to escape from what is going on in her life generally. And while she is there, she takes advice on what to do next.’
Ferguson is reportedly popular among staff, who are willing to listen as she voices fears for her security when she is finally outside the protective grounds of Royal Lodge.
The Sun reported a source saying: ‘Sarah, in particular, is panicking about what comes next and she is not in a good place.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s prince title has been formally removed by his brother King Charles (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
Andrew Mountbatten is often heard ‘muttering to himself’ as he pads around the huge home which he’ll soon leave for good (Picture: Invicta Kent Media/Shutterstock)
‘She fears being caught in the crosshairs and is worried about herself and her and Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.
‘But she is particularly fearful for Andrew as she knows he was at the centre of the Epstein scandal.’
The pair are being forced out of the Windsor property, after King Charles stripped his younger brother of his titles and honours.
Andrew, who moved in back in 2004, is headed for a property on the King’s Norfolk estate, paid for by the monarch, but Fergie’s future remains unclear.
His ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein had piled untold pressure on the royals. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
Andrew, who has been told by US Congressmen to appear before them to explain what he knew about Epstein’s criminal empire, has been ‘spending a lot of time alone’, the source said.
‘Andrew rarely goes out and has been padding around the lodge and ranting and muttering,’ the source added.
Andrew Windsor and his wife will soon leave Royal Lodge for the final time with the disgraced former prince expected to take up residence on the King’s Norfolk estate (Picture: Shutterstock)
They continued: ‘But the one thing that brings them together is their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie — as they both want to shield them as much as possible from what is going on.’
The exiled prince is however refusing to “give ground” on a heap of demands ahead of his move to Sandringham.
His anxieties reportedly stem from a fear that Prince William will be less generous than his father once he ascends to the throne.
‘Andrew will certainly go quietly and allow the Royal Family to save face,’ a royal insider told the Daily Mail.
‘But he has conditions and he isn’t prepared to give much ground on them.’
The source added: ‘There is the question of future-proofing any deal. There is also the question of long-term funding and housing.’
Andrew has faced the added humiliation of seeing his name stripped from streets, monuments and institutions around the world.
Residents living in roads named after the late Queen’s third child have called for their names to be changed.
Maidenhead’s Prince Andrew Road and the adjoining Prince Andrew Close were named after him after his birth in 1960.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said that any formal application would be considered in line with its procedures.
Andrew was one of many high-profile friends of Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges.
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, alleged that she was forced into several sexual encounters with Andrew while being trafficked by Epstein, which Andrew has always denied.
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