King Charles kicked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor out of Royal Lodge hours after he was ‘bizarrely’ seen smiling and waving at the public.
The shamed ex-Duke was seen cheerily greeting members of the public as he rode his horse near his home on Tuesday morning, despite the continued outrage over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The 65-year-old was also seen waving while at the wheel of his Range Rover o the Windsor estate – as if he were were a superstar greeting a crowd of fans.
It came as royal courtiers plotted his exit from Royal Lodge, with insiders suggesting the photographs may have been the ‘final straw’ in what has been a turbulent few months for the shamed former royal.
They have claimed that being seen out in public with a smile on his face was not ‘appropriate behaviour’ amid growing revelations about his years of communication with Jeffrey Epstein, and accusations about this own sex life.
One royal insider told the Daily Mail yesterday: ‘Even to the end, he just didn’t get it.’
Another observer described the images of him driving as ‘bizarre’, while a second royal source said ‘you just want to whack your head on the desk. Appalling optics.’
Less than 12 hours after the pictures were taken he was moved out of of his 30-bedroom mansion under the cover of darkness.
It is understood Andrew needed ‘encouragement’ to speed up his departure following the publication of a picture of him on all fours, looming over a female on the floor in the latest tranche of Epstein files.
On Tuesday, a number of removal vans were pictured at Royal Lodge, three months after he handed back his lease and was stripped of his remaining titles.
Andrew was driven 132 miles to Sandringham and was reportedly transported ‘under the cover of darkness’.
He will be temporarily staying at Wood Farm Cottage before moving permanently next door to Marsh Farm by the start of April, upon the completion of renovations.
Work appears to have paused at the property in recent days, while the security fence to shield the house from the road has not yet been completed.
A woman, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I think if he has to come and live here, it should be somewhere that’s quite secluded.
‘There are houses that belong to the King that he could go to that wouldn’t cause anybody any bother. The press are all down there. The villagers don’t like that. It’s a quiet village.’
Many in the village were reluctant to speak at all, with some saying they could not comment as they worked for the royal estate.
Around two miles away at Sandringham Visitor Centre, members of the public did not speak positively of Andrew’s move.
Abraham Bruin, 83, of West Walton, who used to work in plant nurseries, was visiting the Sandringham estate on Wednesday.
He said: ‘I’m a little bit flabbergasted myself. If he’s an outcast and living on the estate, he’s not an outcast is he.’
A woman, speaking anonymously, said: ‘Really he’s going back to luxury, isn’t he? He’s being waited on hand and foot.’
The former prince is now under mounting pressure to co-operate with US officials investigating Epstein’s crimes, with sources saying it is a ‘matter of personal conscience’ as well as his public duty.
While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations from the US Department of Justice file dump, royal sources told the Daily Mail on Monday night that ‘providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew and his conscience’.
Insiders also said it was always a principle that those who have relevant information should ‘participate in any lawful inquiry on any subject’.
The development will add fuel to the fire of calls for the former prince to break his self-imposed silence and publicly co-operate with officials investigating Epstein’s crimes – and the network of contacts that aided and abetted him.
It is understood King Charles was not aware of the level of detail in the latest files, which reveal the depths of the relationship between his brother and the paedophile.
Buckingham Palace appears to be learning about the new material at the same time as the public.
But the ensuing headlines will be troubling given Andrew was a working member of the Royal Family and held a prestigious role as a UK trade ambassador during his association with Epstein.
The King and Queen pointedly stated last October, as it was announced Andrew was being stripped of his titles, that their ‘thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse’.
Although Andrew has now transferred into his new abode, his former wife Sarah Ferguson is not thought to have been so lucky.
She is yet to find a new permanent property because she won’t move in with her ex and the pair’s children can’t offer them a residence, it has been claimed.
The former Duchess of York is in the midst of a ‘housing crisis’ and is clinging on to the hope of finding a new place in Windsor.
But the 66-year-old will have to ‘lower her expectations’ about the standard of her next home after decades in the Royal Lodge.
Fergie is said to be in a ‘fragile’ state over her fall from grace, telling friends her recent travails were ‘not good for my mental health’.
