After increased speculation (and criticism) over the Royal Family's response to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's links to convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, King Charles has issued a statement confirming he has stripped his younger brother of all of his titles – including 'Prince' – and that he will be moving out of the Royal Lodge.
"Formal notice has today been served to surrender the lease. The move will take place as soon as practicable," a Palace statement confirmed. Mountbatten Windsor will now move to a property on the Sandringham estate, and will effectively be at the mercy of the King who will be providing (and potentially paying for) his brother's new home.
The Royal Lodge is a mansion that Mountbatten Windsor has lived in for more than 20 years, along with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, whose own title of Duchess of York was also revoked earlier this month.
Now that King Charles has put his foot down, Ferguson will also need to find a new place to live. Currently, it is not clear where the ex-Duchess will move to, but she has reportedly not been offered alternative accommodation by the royals.
The Mirror report, "It is understood that Sarah will not be moving into Sandringham with Andrew, marking an end to their 17-year co-living arrangement at Royal Lodge." The report added that Ferguson will "fend for herself, as no offer has been made to house Andrew's ex wife."
Ferguson's relationship with Epstein has been the subject of intense scrutiny of late recently too, after emails from 2011 were published showing that she had contacted Epstein and described him as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend", despite publicly condemning Epstein after he was convicted for sex trafficking a minor.
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A month prior to the email, Ferguson had given an interview describing her association with Epstein as a "terrible, terrible error of judgment" and vowed she would have "nothing to do [with him]" going forward. Ferguson also accepted money from Epstein after he was jailed.
Mountbatten Windsor has always denied allegations of wrongdoing or abuse in connection to Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year, said in a 2019 interview that she had sex with Mountbatten Windsor when she was 17, after being trafficked by Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
At the time, Buckingham Palace responded with a statement labelling Giuffre's story as "false and without any foundation".
The most recent statement marks a change in tone: "Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."
