The countdown to the day when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor officially leaves his longtime royal residence, Royal Lodge, is on—and the disgraced royal is reportedly not happy about it.
After years of mounting scandal related to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew was stripped of his titles—including Prince—last month and he and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, have been effectively evicted from Royal Lodge, the sprawling, 30-room royal residence in Windsor they've shared for the last 20 years, even following their divorce.
While no exact date for Andrew's move has been announced, he's reportedly expected to move into one of the King's private home on the royal family's Sandringham estate in Norfolk in the new year, according to Express.
The former Duke of York may have a few weeks left at Royal Lodge, but at least one royal expert says his remaining time at the Windsor mansion is almost certainly more bitter than sweet.
Andrew's title-stripping scandal made headlines around the world.
Speaking to the Mirror , former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said she believes Andrew is likely feeling "humiliated," "angry," and "wronged" after being publicly stripped of his titles, particularly given his continued denials of the accusations against him.
"I’m sure he’s feeling humiliated and, by all accounts, angry," Bond said of the former prince's mindset in his final days at Royal Lodge. "You have to remember that he has consistently protested his innocence. Therefore, he feels wronged. But the reality is he now has just a few weeks left before he has to leave Royal Lodge, which has been his home for more than 20 years."
As difficult as his final days at Royal Lodge may be, Andrew may be in for a real wake up call after his move to the Sandringham estate, Bond said, pointing out that the disgraced royal will likely face a steep learning curve as he'll be expected to do many things for himself that have been taken care of by royal staff in the past.
The former Duke of York is seen at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in April 2021.
“I don’t think Andrew is the sort of person who will ever feel humble,” Bond explained. “That’s not in his nature. I think he will expect to have staff in his new home, as I don’t imagine he has the first idea about how to cook, clean or shop.”
Andrew's fall from grace (and from the privileges of royal life) is unlikely to be reversed at this point, but Bond did have one major suggestion for how Andrew could begin to repair his reputation—to show remorse for associating with Epstein and cooperate with the U.S. Congress in its investigation into the late sex offender's crimes.
“One thing he could do to show some remorse (for, at the very least, his bad judgement in befriending Epstein) is to cooperate with the Congressional committee and tell them what he saw and what he knows," she said. "At the moment, though, that seems unlikely.”