Prince Andrew, the brother of King Charles III, has vacated his long-time residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor following the stripping of his royal titles and mounting scrutiny over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Duke of York, officially known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, left the 31-room property late on Monday. His departure follows a Buckingham Palace announcement in October that he would move out that same month after his military affiliations and royal patronages were removed. That move was subsequently delayed. He is now expected to return briefly to collect remaining belongings before establishing his permanent residence at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
This development coincides with renewed police attention. British authorities are assessing allegations reported by the BBC that a woman was allegedly sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2010. Andrew has consistently denied any improper conduct. The claim, if proven, would be the first from an Epstein survivor alleging a sexual encounter inside a royal residence.
The latest police review is triggered by the release of millions of pages of documents and images by the U.S. Department of Justice. A recent tranche includes photographs purportedly showing Andrew with a woman at Epstein’s New York mansion, as well as email exchanges with Epstein that continued years after the financier’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting a minor. Separate emails indicate Epstein invited Andrew to dine with a 26-year-old Russian woman.
The document releases have amplified calls for Andrew to testify before the U.S. Congress. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance recently expressed support for bipartisan efforts to summon the former prince, highlighting international interest in Epstein’s influential network. While the heavily redacted files continue to be analysed, they have provided fresh, if limited, details about Andrew’s prolonged contact with Epstein.
Andrew’s status as a working royal was permanently ended in 2022 after a separate civil sexual assault lawsuit in the U.S., which he settled. His forced relocation from Royal Lodge marks a definitive end to his formal role within the monarchy’s inner circle. The convergence of police assessment, U.S. political pressure, and ongoing public examination of the Epstein files ensures the former prince’s past associations will remain a subject of legal and public inquiry for the foreseeable future.
