Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s Next Move Could Include "Plans to Ditch U.K. to Escape Scandal” a Royal Biographer Says

As the royal family continues to face backlash and criticism in the wake of the latest round of scandalous revelations about Prince Andrew and his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, questions have arisen about the disgraced royal's future.

On Friday, October 17, news broke that Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, had decided to voluntarily stop using their royal titles amid the ongoing scandal (Ferguson has faced backlash of her own for her ties to Epstein, as well), but in the week that followed, the pair were met with growing calls from the public to leave Royal Lodge, the royal residence they share in Windsor.

While Andrew's very public recent demotion has put a spotlight on his uses of the property, this apparently isn't the first time its been suggested that he leave the lavish, 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park.

According to the Daily Mail, King Charles has been urging his brother to downsize for sometime now, even before the latest scandal, and has offered up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, as an option for Andrew to move to.

Andrew has reportedly pushed back hard against the King's attempts to convince him to move out of Royal Lodge, which have reportedly been a source of tension for the brothers for some time now. In spring of 2024, the Daily Mail reported that Charles was threatening to cut ties with Andrew if he wouldn't move from Royal Lodge.

Although the King has apparently made it clear that he would like Andrew to leave Royal Lodge, getting him to do so is complicated since the former Duke of York signed what is a reportedly "iron-clad" 75-year lease on the property when he moved there in 2003.

King Charles may not be able to easily evict his brother from the Windsor mansion, but he can put pressure on the decision by withholding support.

"Unfortunately, if Andrew refuses to leave within a reasonable time frame, then the King may be forced to reassess the whole package of support he provides and the duke would be required to fund the lion's share of his security, accommodation and lifestyle costs all on his own—which, given the sums involved, is highly unlikely to be possible in the long term," a friend of the King's told The Times of the situation. "Everyone is mindful of his well-being, and has his best interests at heart, but there are limits of patience and tolerance."

Now that public pressure is mounting for him to leave Royal Lodge, Andrew might finally be convinced to leave the property voluntarily. If that were to happen, royal author Andrew Lownie thinks it's likely that both Andrew and Ferguson would opt to leave the U.K. all together.

Lownie, who wrote a biography about the former husband and wife called Entitled: The Rise and Fall of York, spoke to Hello! magazine about the prospect of the couple leaving Royal Lodge and said that, if that happens, both would likely choose new homes that might allow them to go "under the radar."

According to the Mirror, Lownie predicts that Ferguson would probably choose to make Switzerland her new home and sees a couple of likely options abroad for Andrew, as well.

"Probably he’s being encouraged to go to his palace in Abu Dhabi or to take up a Swiss nationality," Lownie said.

While it seemed as though an announcement about Andrew's future in Royal Lodge might be coming earlier this week when journalists raced to the property after being tipped off to a coming announcement from the royal family, the Palace abruptly changed course and told members of the media that no announcement would be made after all.

"There was great excitement at what might be about to happen—and then nothing did," one member of the royal press told the Daily Mail of the situation.