Prince Edward and Sophie were forced to use a ‘holiday let’ in Sandringham because Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor refuses to leave their vacation home.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh had planned to use Wood Farm for their annual Easter break but were instead forced to stay in a cottage on the Sandringham Estate.
Andrew has been staying in Wood Farm, his temporary home until his permanent move to Marsh Farm, next door on the estate.
Edward, 62, became the first royal to pay a visit to Andrew, 66, since he began his exile in Norfolk two months ago.
The disgraced former prince has been in hiding following his eviction from Royal Lodge in February over his links to US paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke reportedly had a ‘quiet word’ with Andrew, who is dragging his heels at his temporary accommodation.
Edward and Sophie regularly book Wood Farm for their Easter getaway, but were forced to stay in the estate’s Gardens House at the King’s Sandringham estate over the break, as Andrew is ‘reluctant to leave’ the Norfolk bolthole.
The holiday let costs up to £4,110 a week in the high season.
A source told The Sun: ‘Andrew was evicted from Royal Lodge at Windsor but now has two homes at his disposal.
‘He is just going back and forth between Wood Farm and Marsh Farm.
‘It’s got to be sorted as Edward and Sophie like to use Wood Farm.’
The Gardens House was once home to the estate’s head gardener.
The eight-bedroom home is 300 yards from the main Sandringham House, which is open to visitors at this time of year.
On Thursday, Andrew got two other visitors in the form of members of the public trying to climb his fence.
Security concerns were sparked when a red car pulled up outside Andrew’s new permanent home at Marsh Farm on Thursday.
Two people got out and proceeded to scale the exterior gate before attempting to peer over a newly erected 6ft fence in front of the farmhouse.
Pictures showed a man and a girl standing on top of the gate while trying to catch a glimpse inside the property, which is undergoing renovation works ahead of Andrew’s move in the coming weeks.
But they didn’t stay for long as Andrew’s security was quick to react and defused the situation before the pair jumped back in their car and drove off.
Andrew appeared to spend that afternoon at his new house and was seen meeting up with the Sandringham estate manager, Edward Parsons.
Builders have been working flat out to get the property ready for Andrew, fitting luxury carpets, a Sky dish and a fast broadband connection.
Over the past weeks, hundreds of boxes of his belongings have been delivered to the new home with his move now said to be ‘imminent’.
The disgraced ex-Duke, who has been accused of leaking secrets to Jeffrey Epstein, remained in Norfolk over Easter and did not attend the Royal Family’s traditional service at Windsor this year.
He has been keeping a low profile in Norfolk since his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in a public office on his 66th birthday on February 19.
Over the weekend, Andrew was also spotted inspecting horses near to his home, despite him reportedly being urged to stop riding.
It is understood that aides feared it would be a ‘bad look’ for him to be seen enjoying himself while he is under police investigation for misconduct in public office.
Before moving to Sandringham a few weeks ago, Andrew was regularly seen horse riding around Windsor.
And earlier last week, he had a second-hand static caravan delivered to his current home, which has been propped up on bricks in his garden, bearing signs of moss.
The caravan – a £26,000 Willerby Meridian Lodge – was paid for using money his brother, King Charles, gave him for ‘living expenses’ and it will house his security detail as there is not enough space in his main Norfolk home.
