Andrew ‘all the time has a depressing face’: Ex-prince’s lonely life in Sandringham exile after he was banished from Windsor by King Charles

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor returned cowering to his lonely life in exile at Sandringham after an unprecedented few hours saw him arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. 

In what marked one of the worst days for the royals in recent history, Andrew was detained in an 8am raid at his temporary home, Wood Farm, on his brother, King Charles‘s private Norfolk estate, yesterday. 

And in an event that has rocked the royals, the disgraced ex-prince became the first senior royal to be arrested in modern times, with Thames Valley Police confirming he was taken into custody at 10am on Thursday. 

Yesterday, in a picture plastered across the newspapers of the globe, the former duke was seen looking shellshocked as he cowered in the back of a car leaving Aylsham police station shortly after 7pm. 

And as of now, he returns to his lonely life in exile in Sandringham after being banished by the monarch from The Royal Lodge in Windsor, where he paid ‘peppercorn rent’ for decades. 

Initially, he was said to begrudgingly ‘accept[ed]’ that he had to move from the Grade II-listed manor, a royal insider said, after months of dragging his heels as he faced packing up his life to move to Norfolk. 

Meanwhile, very little has changed for Andrew besides the absence of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who previously dubbed them the ‘world’s happiest divorced couple’, as he continues to spend most of his time lounging in front of the television 

And while an insider previously described him as ‘more sanguine’ than expected in his humiliating move from Windsor, one local said the disgraced duke was ‘always so miserable’.

‘I think he should have been locked up a long time ago, a lot of us do,’ they told the Eastern Daily Press. ‘He’s always so miserable when you see him at Christmas. He’s always got a miserable face.’

Andrew is temporarily residing at Wood Farm, the property where his father, Prince Philip spent much of his final years, is hidden from public view around 300 yards down a private driveway in Wolferton on the edge of the Norfolk estate.

He is set to permanently reside at Marsh Farm, however his beloved collection of more than 60 stuffed animals will not be making the move from Windsor with him, according to German news outlet BILD.

Andrew is said to have only taken a single teddy to his new home with the rest of his stuffed toys, as well as other belongings and furniture, placed in storage ‘for practical reasons’.

And amid his forced move from the Grade II-listed mansion, the former duke was clinging to his much-loved teddy bear collection, an insider previously told Heatworld.

‘He’s completely anthropomorphized them, to the point that he’s convinced the move out of Royal Lodge is going to be hard on them because, as he says, it’s their home too,’ the source said in December.

‘It really seems like being forced to move has sent him into a full-on meltdown because he keeps telling people the bears won’t cope with the change, it’s like he’s transferring his own emotions onto them, the way a little kid would.’

Andrew’s alleged affinity with his soft toy collection was also illustrated in Netflix’s film Scoop, which retold his infamous 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis

Meanwhile, many of his expensive possessions, such as guns, will also not come with him after he quietly surrendered his gun licence in November at the request of Metropolitan Police firearm officers.

The King will also provide a cleaner, a groundsman and a cook from Sandringham to look after Andrew’s needs on an ad hoc basis, and the  

And Andrew may even see more of his brother Charles, who is known to feel a deep sense of duty towards his younger brother despite the shame he has brought on the family.

The former prince is said to have become rather a ‘couch potato’ in his mid-sixties, a far cry from his partying and jetsetting in his thirties and forties.

Dinners and nights out in Mayfair have been replaced by meals for one at home.

A team of engineers employed by Sky TV to support VIP customers was spotted installing satellite TV and broadband at his new residence, Marsh Farm, just this week.

These engineers are only used on the most exclusive and challenging jobs, often on large properties that require challenging installations where ropes might be needed due to the height.

The VIP team also help set up sophisticated Wi-Fi networks and ultra-secure cloud-based systems, which might be needed by celebrities, royals or high-profile customers.

For telly addict Andrew, months of being holed up at Windsor’s Royal Lodge had the advantage of allowing him to spend even more time watching golf and war movies.

The super-fast broadband being installed at Marsh Farm will also help with his other rumoured passion: video games. He is said to have a soft spot for Call of Duty and flight simulators. In his isolation, he is also believed to love watching airport clips on YouTube.

When his bank of TV screens are switched off, Andrew loves to settle down with a new crime novel or thriller, unless he is re-reading his favourite book The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.

‘Friends have said he spends a good deal of time watching videos of planes landing and taking off. Inevitably, he spends quite a lot of time watching golf on TV’, the source said.

A source told The Sun last year: ‘He loves games like Call of Duty, war games with helicopters. He certainly doesn’t play FIFA; he’s got no interest in football. He really enjoys war films.’

Meanwhile, a friend told the Daily Telegraph that he is a ‘couch potato’, adding: ‘He does watch a lot of TV’.

‘What’s he going to do with the rest of his life? It’s a very interesting question, and I don’t think anyone has the answers’, another source said.

Sandringham is a huge estate, and it will allow him more freedom, although he will be seen out and about, likely on a horse or driving in his Range Rover.

‘The palace will argue he is a private citizen entitled to privacy, but there is public access to large parts of the estate. So I think Andrew will be spotted quite regularly’, the insider added.

Andrew’s life watching TV at home in his mid-sixties is quite a contrast from the partying days of his youth.

Anthony Holden, the first biographer of the now King Charles, said of him: ‘Dull. Thick. Couch potato. Pro-am golf and Stallone videos, yawn, yawn.’

Andrew Lownie wrote a bombshell royal biography, serialised in the Daily Mail, last year called Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

He said of Andrew’s life: ‘His protection officers were called on to collect his golf balls after he had driven them down the fairway and maids summoned from four floors below to open the curtains beside him.

‘He once called a television technician at night to show him how to work the remote control on a TV set at Sunninghill. Wendy Berry, the housekeeper at Highgrove whose son worked at Buckingham Palace, noted that for the duke, staff were basically invisible, “there to serve and not to question his actions”.’

Mr Lownie previously said of his current life: ‘In most practical senses, Andrew’s life has changed little – he already spent most of his time at home. Ask those who know him about his hobbies, and they will say the same words on repeat, unchanging through the years. There’s golf; shooting; riding; hours of television; school-dinner-style puddings; the military; and the newer and admittedly niche “watching videos of aeroplanes landing”.’

Meanwhile Andrwe’s 66th birthday spent in a police station is afar cry from his 54th where he was seen partying with George Clooney’s ex, ‘Croation Sensation’ Monika Jakisic. 

‘The press reported the duke entertaining the swimwear model Monika Jakisic, known as the ‘Croatian Sensation’, first on his 54th birthday at the Italian restaurant Cecconi, then two days later at the Arts Club in Knightsbridge and finally a few weeks later in a private room at the Royal Thames Yacht Club,’ Lownie wrote.

Model monika sparked a rumour frenzy after posting a picture of what appeared to be a diamond engagement ring, with Andrew’s press agent forced to shoot down the gossip, Mr Lownie said.

Seemingly unphased, Sarah Ferguson posted a throwback snap to Twitter to mark the former prince’s 58th birthday, describing him as ‘the best man, father’ and ‘friend’.