The former prince is expected to move to the property by Easter (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Marsh Farm, the five-bedroom Norfolk mansion that will reportedly be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s new residence, is a “heck of a step-down” from the sprawling Royal Lodge, according to royal commentator Richard Kay.
But the former prince is making sure that he’s as comfortable as he can be there, with a team of builders and other tradesmen spotted working hard to prepare the former farmhouse for its notorious new tenant.
“Workmen were there putting in a satellite dish for him. We know he loves his TV,” Richard told the Palace Confidential podcast, adding “I think it all harks back to his military days. He spent hours watching planes descending and taking off from Heathrow Airport on some interactive system that he had at Royal Lodge, and I’m sure that will be replicated at Marsh Farm.”
Large vans have been seen ferrying some of Mountbatten-Windsor’s vast stash of possessions to the property, although some insiders have suggested that a good deal of the “natural hoarder’s” belongings will have to be placed into long-term storage.
One royal source told the Daily Mail: “A lorry has been and gone under the cover of darkness. Andrew is going to a shoebox-sized house, compared to Royal Lodge, so a lot of the things that were taken are going into a storage unit.”
A car carrying Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor drove out of Royal Lodge (Image: (Image: Jim Bennett))
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The source added: “The clutter at Royal Lodge is turning what should be a straightforward move into a months-long, room-by-room excavation. It’s all going to be painfully slow, especially with refurbishment work to complete at the other end. These aren’t the kind of belongings you can sweep into a skip. Even if Andrew wanted to move tomorrow, he couldn’t.”
However, it has been rumoured that the move could be completed before his lease expires. While his lease on the 30-room Royal Lodge doesn’t run out until October, royal expert Rebecca English said that according to her sources, his brother, King Charles, has mandated that he has to be out of the Windsor property by Easter – in the first week of April.
Marsh Farm, which is is owned by the King via the Sandringham Estate has stood empty for several years, since the death of the last tenant farmer, and is currently undergoing extensive renovations for Andrew to move in, with work expected to finish around Easter 2026.
A removal van arriving at Royal Lodge (Image: (Image: Jim Bennett))
The renovations, which are reportedly being being paid for from the King’s private purse, include a completely new kitchen, an improve perimeter fence and a state-of-the-art CCTV system.
Buckingham Palace sources have remained tight-lipped about the move, stressing that Mountbatten-Windsor is now a “private citizen” and that Sandringham is a “private estate.”
Details have been made available, for example, on how much rent might be payable on the property. Eyebrows were raised last year after it emerged that Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease on Royal Lodge involved a so-called “peppercorn rent” – a stipulation that a nominal fee (literally “one peppercorn, if demanded”) should be paid annually.
Mountbatten-Windsor paid £1 million upfront for the 75-year lease on the 30-room property in 2003 and is also believed to have covered substantial refurbishment costs. That arrangement drew a good deal of criticism as public funds are involved in the Crown Estate’s management, leading to scrutiny from MPs investigating the royal family’s various property deals.