Andrew Mountbatten Windsor departed Royal Lodge on Monday night and relocated to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, marking the culmination of months of pressure following his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move from the 30 room Georgian mansion where he lived for more than two decades followed King Charles ordering him to surrender the lease in October after stripping him of royal titles and honours. The former prince is currently residing at a temporary property on the Sandringham Estate before relocating permanently to Marsh Farm once renovations are completed.
The departure came days after the United States Department of Justice released over three million pages of documents, including photographs appearing to show Mountbatten Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the ground. The images were part of extensive files related to investigations into Epstein, who died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Email correspondence included in the files showed Mountbatten Windsor maintaining contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, including exchanges about meeting a Russian woman and invitations to dine at Buckingham Palace.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday urged Mountbatten Windsor to testify before a United States congressional committee investigating Epstein. Speaking to reporters while travelling to Japan, Starmer emphasized victims must remain the priority and stated anyone with information should be prepared to share it.
Members of the United States House Oversight Committee requested a transcribed interview with Mountbatten Windsor in November about his relationship with Epstein. The former prince has not responded to the request.
A lawyer representing Epstein victims separately alleged that a woman in her twenties was sent by Epstein to Britain in 2010 for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten Windsor at Royal Lodge. The allegation has not been independently verified.
Mountbatten Windsor has consistently denied all wrongdoing and maintained he never witnessed or suspected criminal behaviour by Epstein. He settled a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre in February 2022 for an undisclosed sum after she accused him of sexual assault when she was 17 years old. Giuffre died in April 2025.
The former prince held a 75 year lease on Royal Lodge with peppercorn rent after paying one million pounds upfront and committing to refurbishment costs. A Crown Estate report found the property was significantly dilapidated and concluded Mountbatten Windsor would likely receive no compensation for early lease termination.
Marsh Farm, described by royal insiders as modest compared to Royal Lodge, features five bedrooms, a kitchen, two reception rooms and various outbuildings. The property is located on the Sandringham Estate, which King Charles owns privately.
Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten Windsor’s former wife who also appeared in the Epstein files, will not join him at Sandringham. Buckingham Palace declined to provide additional comment beyond its October statement announcing the title removal.
Mountbatten Windsor is expected to return to Windsor in coming weeks to collect remaining belongings.
Photographs also show Mountbatten-Windsor in compromising positions, including kneeling over a woman lying on the ground. 
