Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Remains in Seclusion as Staff Handle Dog Walking Duties
As the Royal Family prepares for a significant Commonwealth Day event later today, disgraced former Duke of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues to hide away at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate. The royal has not been seen publicly since his arrest last month on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, when he was photographed slouched in the back of a car leaving a Norfolk police station.
Security Team Takes Over Corgi Walking Responsibilities
In a clear effort to maintain his seclusion, Andrew's security personnel have apparently been tasked with walking his dogs. This morning, photographs captured two staff members exercising the pets near Wood Farm, with the former prince conspicuously absent from the scene. The dogs include two corgis named Sandy and Muick that once belonged to his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The corgis were adopted by Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson following the Queen's death in 2022, initially living with them at Royal Lodge in Windsor. After Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and forced to vacate Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace stated cryptically that the dogs would "remain within the family" - and they now appear to be residing with Andrew at his temporary Wood Farm home.
Ferguson Separated from Beloved Pets
This arrangement means Sarah Ferguson, who frequently posted about the dogs on her Instagram account and discussed them during a recent appearance on This Morning, is now separated from the pets as she searches for a new home. The former Duchess of York did not move to the King's private estate with her ex-husband and has revealed how much the dogs miss their former owner, the late Queen.
The corgis captured national attention during the Queen's funeral procession in September 2022, when they were photographed waiting solemnly as the coffin passed by Windsor Castle.
Mounting Legal and Financial Pressures
Royal sources indicate that Andrew is growing "increasingly anxious" about his ability to pay mounting legal fees after King Charles III made clear that his brother must cover all costs himself as a private citizen. A royal source explained: "The financial burden on him, having to attend interviews and take the relevant advice are a huge concern for him and one which he is growing increasingly anxious about. The King has made clear that Andrew is now a private citizen and must meet the relevant costs on his own."
New Epstein Photographs Emerge
Commonwealth Day coincides with the release of new photographs by the United States Department of Justice that appear to show Andrew with a victim of Jeffrey Epstein on his lap. The images, among approximately 180,000 released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, depict a man resembling the former Duke of York wearing a blue shirt and grey hooded jacket with his arms around a blonde female sitting on his lap at Epstein's Manhattan mansion.
A second photograph shows the same man seated with a different young woman standing behind him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Both women, identified as Epstein victims by the Department of Justice, have had their faces redacted in the released images.
The low-resolution photographs appear to have been taken inside the dining room of Epstein's New York townhouse, which Andrew visited for a week-long stay in December 2010. In a 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, the disgraced prince claimed he made the trip because he was "too honourable" not to say goodbye to the convicted paedophile in person.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been contacted for comment regarding the newly released photographs and continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing. The 66-year-old remains in hiding as the royal family marks Commonwealth Day, just weeks after his arrest following allegations he passed confidential information to Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy.
