london
—
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, has left his longtime home in Windsor and is now a resident of Norfolk, England, CNN has learned.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was evicted from the vast 30-room Royal Lodge in the heart of the royal family’s Windsor estate outside London in October after his brother Charles III ousted him from the monarchy over the swirling Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The move, which was expected to take place after the holiday season, comes amid fresh pressure on Mountbatten-Windsor after he reappeared in newly released US Department of Justice documents related to the investigation into a deceased convicted sex offender.
Royal sources told CNN last year that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor would be given a house on the royal estate at Sandringham and would also receive income from Mr Charles. British public broadcaster BBC reported that he is currently staying in temporary accommodation in Sandringham as his base is undergoing renovations.
Mountbatten-Windsor will make occasional visits to Windsor over the next few weeks until the transition phase is complete, according to CNN. The former prince was spotted riding a horse at Windsor Great Park, near the Royal Lodge, on Monday.
Andrew’s occupation of the Royal Lodge (he paid just $1 million for a 75-year lease with peppercorn annual fees “as required”) became a source of public outrage in Britain after the publication last October of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who claims Andrew sexually assaulted her as a teenager.
She wrote that Mountbatten-Windsor “believed it was his birthright to have sex with me.”
Mr Giuffre, who claimed he had never met Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, died by suicide in April at the age of 41. Mr. Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.
By renouncing the use of the title, the former prince sought to end new scrutiny of his conduct. But his move did little to stem the tide of negative headlines.
That led to Prince Charles’ extraordinary decision to strip Andrew of his royal title and kick him out of the royal estate of Windsor. It was the British monarch’s most dramatic attempt to quell the scandal surrounding the disgraced former prince’s relationship with Mr. Epstein.
The late Queen Elizabeth II had given Mountbatten-Windsor, the third of her four children, the right to live in the lodge, which is officially owned by the Crown Estate.
Andrew’s name appears in the latest Epstein files
News of the former prince’s move comes as the latest trove of Epstein files piles further pressure on the disgraced royal family.
The latest file contains three undated photos showing the former prince kneeling over a clothed figure, believed to be a woman or girl, lying on her back on the floor. Her face has been edited.
In two photos, Mountbatten-Windsor is seen touching her stomach and lower back. In the third photo, he is on all fours leaning over her body while looking into the camera.
It is unclear when and where the image was taken. No caption or context for the photo was provided in the document release.
The documents also include an email exchange between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor in August 2010, in which the investor invites the royal to a dinner in London with a “friend” (name redacted).
Mountbatten-Windsor replied, “It’s nice to meet her,” and told Epstein to give her contact information. Epstein described the woman as a 26-year-old Russian who was “smart, beautiful and trustworthy” and admitted she had Mountbatten-Windsor’s emails.
The royal family has not released a statement regarding the revelations. Neither the photo nor the email message suggests any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Thames Valley Police said on Tuesday it was aware of “reports of a woman allegedly taken to an address in Windsor for sexual purposes in 2010”. The force said it was reviewing the information. It is unclear whether police are referring to the same woman mentioned in the email exchange.
In November, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee asked Mountbatten-Windsor to come to Washington to give evidence as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor did not respond to the request at the time, but British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday urged the former prince to respond to questioning.
Vice President J.D. Vance told London’s Daily Mail on Tuesday that he was “certainly open to” having Mountbatten-Windsor testify before U.S. lawmakers about his friendship with Epstein.
“It’s really important that we always remember the victims,” Prince Edward, brother of King Charles and King Mountbatten-Windsor, told CNN at a summit in Dubai on Tuesday. He made no further comment.
