Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson look set to have a big night to themselves after a delivery of champagne was spotted exchanging hands at Windsor’s Royal Lodge.
The former Duke of York, 65, has been holed up in the royal residence since being stripped of his royal titles over his links to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein last month.
Andrew, who has vehemently denied the accusations against him, was officially made a commoner after King Charles formally stripped his brother of his prince title and HRH by issuing a rare Letters Patent on Thursday.
He is also being booted from Royal Lodge, his and Fergie’s 30-room home in Windsor, to a property on the Sandringham estate as soon as practically possible.
While it is unclear exactly when Andrew will make his exit, he appears to be making the most of his remaining time after a large delivery of champagne was seen arriving at the residence on Saturday.
Several boxes of Devaux Champagne were being unloaded from a Majestic Wines van outside the gates of the Grade II-listed mansion before being carried inside.
Despite living at the property for over two decades, Andrew and his ex-wife have been ‘spending a lot of time alone’, supposedly sleeping at opposite ends and only meeting for meal-times to chat with each other.
A source close to the couple claimed the former duke has been ‘ranting to himself’ and ‘rarely goes out’, while Fergie is said to have taken refuge at a secret bar which sits behind the mansion.
Ferguson, 66, has supposedly been baring her soul to friends and staff, who she has been asking to stay extra hours to keep her company, at the on-site pub named ‘The Doghouse’.
She is said to be struggling amid the turmoil and is concerned about the futures of their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, who were spotted sharing an emotional embrace in London on Thursday.
The sisters were spotted chatting intensely in the street as they walked together through London’s most exclusive district. At one point they did appear to be consoling one another.
They stood on a street corner for a few minutes, talking tersely and without smiles, before sharing a close embrace as they said goodbye to one another. Beatrice looked particularly solemn as she walked away.
Their warm, lingering hug came on a busy street close to Green Park and Buckingham Palace around the time when Charles issued a rare Letters Patent.
The official document, published by the Crown Office in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record, formally stripped Andrew of his prince title and also removed his HRH.
The two princesses will retain both their HRH titles and membership of the ‘House of York’ because the King is keen to ensure his nieces are not tainted by the ‘sins of their father’, royal sources have said.
Hours after the sisters’ warm embrace Andrew faced a fresh blow as he was ordered to appear in front of Congress to explain his links to the late paedophile Epstein.
Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee sent the disgraced royal a letter on Thursday saying they believe he possesses important information about people with links to the late financier’s crimes.
It read: ‘The Oversight Committee will investigate allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek information on Epstein’s operations, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship.’
Robert Garcia, the most senior Democrat figure on the committee, added: ‘Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long.
‘Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors.’
In Thursday’s letter, the Democrat committee members say Andrew’s friendship with Epstein started in 1999 and they stayed close friends following his conviction nine years later for procuring minors for prostitution.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – as he is now known – has for many years been dogged by allegations he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein, which he strenuously denies.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex three times with Andrew, including when she was 17 and also during an orgy, after she was trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew paid millions to settle the civil sex case with her in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.
In some rare good news, his daughter Princess Beatrice landed a major charity role amid the growing scandal engulfing her family.
His elder daughter has become deputy patron of The Outward Bound Trust, an organisation encouraging young people to spend time outdoors.
She joins her uncle Prince Edward, who was announced as the royal patron of the charity at a special event at St James’s Palace on Thursday.
Beatrice, 37, has already been a trustee of The Outward Bound Trust since 2019 – the same year the charity accepted Andrew’s resignation as patron following his disastrous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, having supported the then Duke for decades.
Andrew himself took on the role from his father, Prince Philip, who was patron for 65 years, with many believing it was the charity closest to his heart.
It comes after it emerged that Beatrice, who is ninth in line to the throne, and her sister Princess Eugenie, who is 12th, will retain their titles as the walls cave in around their father Andrew.
Amid the controversy Charles is said to be very keen to ‘protect’ nieces Beatrice and Eugenie, 35, who remain Her Royal Highnesses as granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth.
‘He wouldn’t have wanted to sign off on anything that would impact them,’ a source told the Daily Mail.
In 2019, following Andrew’s calamitous Newsnight interview where he discussed his friendship with Epstein, The Outbound Trust became the second charity to accept his resignation.
On Thursday, Beatrice and Eugenie shared a warm, lingering hug on a busy street close to Green Park and Buckingham Palace – around the time when Charles III issued a rare Letters Patent.
The official document, published by the Crown Office in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record, formally stripped Andrew of his prince title and also removed his HRH.
Beatrice and Eugenie are close to their parents but have been reportedly spending more time supporting their beleaguered father.
They have also supported their mother Ferguson, who is said to be considering emigrating while Andrew will be banished to Sandringham, Norfolk.
But yesterday they were supporting each other through what will also be a very testing time for them too.
Multiple sources told the Daily Mail that both princesses have gone out of their way to strongly support beleaguered Andrew in recent weeks.
Last week, Andrew also relinquished his position as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victoria Order following strong pressure from King Charles and in discussion with other family members, including Prince William.
He is expected to leave Royal Lodge and move to a new home on the Sandringham estate – which is owned by the Royal Family.
The move was entirely down to the King and his advisers, without pressure from the government or other family members, such as Prince William, sources told the Daily Mail.
‘The process has been under way for some while but there was a need to get it right in the face of some very big challenges,’ an insider said.
Notice was not served on Andrew to move. It was his lease, so it was up to the former Duke of York to serve notice himself, suggesting that he is not fighting the process.
It comes as His Majesty had made it clear he would not hesitate to take ‘further action’ if his younger brother continued to cling on to his dukedom and other honours after he lied about cutting ties with paedophile financier Epstein, the Daily Mail previously revealed.
And despite the tsunami of growing evidence mounting against him, the 65-year-old was understood to still be ‘digging his heels in’ with a ‘startling lack of contrition’, in a situation the King deemed ‘intolerable’, sources previously said.
Last week, the row over the Royal Lodge continued to grow amid damning revelations in a posthumous memoir from Andrew’s sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life this year, aged 41.
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was released this month, with the manuscript having been completed before she died.
The explosive book revolves around her years spent as a sex slave to Epstein and his British madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
Extracts published by The Guardian show how Ms Giuffre, who said she was trafficked by Epstein three times for sex with Andrew, called the ex-duke ‘entitled’ and viewing sex as his ‘birthright’.
Andrew denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, though paid millions in an out of court settlement in February 2022.
