Ex-Prince Andrew’s secretive midnight move from Royal Lodge, the drip-drip of fresh Epstein revelations, and a widening split between King Charles and Prince William over how to handle the “Andrew problem” have combined to make this another chaotic week for the British monarchy, as subscribers to The Royalist on Substack will be aware.
The main story of the week is Andrew. On Monday night, under cover of darkness, he finally moved out of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park and relocated to Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The move was accelerated after his brother the king became irritated by Andrew’s habit of riding and driving around Windsor, mugging and waving at photographers. This was behavior that Charles reportedly saw as a provocation, just as the Epstein files were dragging Andrew back into the headlines.
One might reasonably argue that Andrew has done far worse than wave at photographers, and the king’s failure to address this problem decisively has been an object lesson in poor crisis management.
Three years ago, most people had only the vaguest idea where Andrew lived. A small number cared; the general public did not. It was Charles who first turned Andrew’s housing arrangements into a rolling national story by repeatedly briefing newspapers that he wanted him out of Royal Lodge.
Now, no sooner had Andrew arrived at his supposed “stopgap” new home, Wood Farm, than briefings began suggesting it may prove difficult to move him again to Marsh Farm, the smaller nearby property meant to be his permanent residence. I am told that building work at Marsh Farm has stalled.
Shunting Andrew from house to house will only keep this story alive. Leaving him at Wood Farm and drawing a line under the matter would be the cleaner option. Instead, just as Charles made Royal Lodge a front-page issue by publicly pushing Andrew out, he is once again turning his brother’s living arrangements into national news.
Following Andrew’s arrival in Norfolk, staff on the Sandringham estate were informed they did not have to serve him if they felt uncomfortable doing so. A significant number have already opted out. Some reports have described the situation as a “strike.”
Epstein files reveal more secrets
Andrew continues to dominate the U.K. Sunday front pages as newly released Epstein files generate a steady flow of disturbing claims, ensuring there is no waning of public interest. One report alleges that Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew entertained four young women at a private dinner at Buckingham Palace, with Epstein describing one of them in emails as “very cute.”
Another tranche of documents details allegations from a second woman who claims she was trafficked to the U.K. by Epstein in 2010 for a sexual encounter with Andrew at Royal Lodge and later taken on a tour of Buckingham Palace. These claims are being reviewed by Thames Valley Police, which has jurisdiction over Windsor.
Andrew denies all allegations of wrongdoing and previously settled a civil lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre without admitting liability.
Despite repeated calls from campaigners and the anti-monarchy group Republic for a full criminal investigation, the Metropolitan Police said this week that it has not opened a new inquiry into Andrew following the latest document release. Instead, there is a patchwork of police “assessment” activity across jurisdictions. What is needed is a single, clear-cut criminal investigation focused squarely on Andrew himself.
Few would envy the position of Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Whatever one thinks of them, it is undeniably humiliating to discover that an email exists from their mother to a convicted sex offender joking that one of them was on a “shagging weekend” with her boyfriend.
A friend of Eugenie told me this week that calling the situation difficult is “the understatement of the year,” adding that the latest revelations have been deeply upsetting. Eugenie’s work with the Anti-Slavery Collective charity, the friend said, “is incredibly important to her, and she feels she may be forced to make a choice.”
That choice may already be being made for her. The Anti-Slavery Collective, which Eugenie co-founded in 2017, has just launched a major report, Fake Fashion: A Human Rights Scandal, examining modern slavery and criminal networks behind counterfeit designer goods. Yet Eugenie was absent from last week’s London launch and was not mentioned in the press materials, despite still being listed prominently on the charity’s website as a co-founder and figurehead. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that her parents’ Epstein entanglements are now threatening the work she values most.
Beatrice, meanwhile, made a conspicuous show of support for her father as recently as Jan. 27, when she was photographed taking her daughter Sienna riding with Andrew in Windsor Great Park. Three days later, the latest batch of Epstein files was released. I am told that such photo-ops will not be repeated.
More broadly, both princesses have already signaled their position publicly. They joined King Charles at Sandringham for Christmas without their parents, a move that reportedly went down badly with Prince William.
Charles and William hold sharply different views on how to treat renegade family members. William is personally fond of Beatrice and cooler toward Eugenie, who has maintained a friendship with Harry and Meghan and has visited them in California.
Beyond personal feelings, William regards the king’s embrace of the two princesses as further evidence of what he sees as Charles’s chronic weakness when it comes to Andrew. His position is blunt: until it is clear whether Beatrice or Eugenie had any involvement in Epstein’s world or their father’s business networks, they should not be anywhere near the public-facing royal family.
Friends of William say he would have “no hesitation” in making clear that Andrew should face a proper police investigation were he king, and that he believes the monarchy cannot retain public respect unless it visibly adheres to the principle that no one is above the law.
Those close to the king take a very different view. They insist Charles has no desire to see his brother subjected to a full-scale police inquiry. One former royal staffer put it starkly: “The monarchy has shielded Andrew from accountability for decades. That isn’t about to change.”
A friend of the king described the situation as “a nightmare,” adding that a court case would only intensify the damage. The palace’s official line—that Andrew should “consult his conscience” on whether to cooperate with U.S. authorities—is a deliberately evasive position. Charles knows perfectly well that Andrew has no intention of submitting voluntarily to questioning on either side of the Atlantic.
The strategy allows the king to present the matter as beyond his control while avoiding even the mildest public endorsement of the principle that his brother should be treated like any other citizen.
That contradiction was exposed during a walkabout in Dedham, Essex, this week, when a man in the crowd shouted, “Should the police be investigating Andrew?” The king did not respond and moved on, but the question is valid.
In recent weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in briefings suggesting the king fears Andrew could harm himself, with claims that he is unstable or unable to cope. Some observers have speculated that this could be the groundwork for a psychiatric committal, or alternatively, portray Andrew as medically unfit to face legal scrutiny.
While the House of Windsor continues to struggle to contain the Andrew crisis, Harry and Meghan chose this week to project an image of domestic perfection from sunny California. Meghan posted a video showing her bringing a box of chocolate bars from her As Ever collaboration with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés to Harry’s home office.
Barefoot and dressed casually, Harry selects a white chocolate bar with flower sprinkles and hemp hearts, smiles, and thanks his wife as their dog sleeps at his feet. The clip promotes a Valentine’s Day product, but it also offers a carefully curated portrait of relaxed, middle-class domestic life.
Whatever one thinks of the Sussexes, the contrast with the images emerging from the Epstein material involving Andrew could hardly be more stark.
Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandal? Click through to follow all Tom Sykes’ reporting at The Royalist on Substack.
The post Andrew Moves Out as Epstein Files Continue to Drive a Wedge Between UK Royals appeared first on The Daily Beast.
