Andrew Windsor is spending his final weeks at Royal Lodge ‘ranting to himself’ while ex-wife Sarah Ferguson takes refuge in a secret bar called The Doghouse, sources have reportedly said.
The former Duke and Duchess of York sleep at opposite ends of the 30-room mansion, only joining at mealtimes to discuss their futures, The Sun reported.
The disgraced former prince is often heard ‘padding about’ the huge home since brother King Charles removed his and Fergie’s titles.
Ferguson, who was pulled further into the sordid Epstein affair after the Mail on Sunday reported she’d contacted him after his conviction, is often heard confiding in staff at the estate’s hidden bar.
A source told The Sun: ‘She drinks in there with friends and staff to escape from what is going on in her life generally. And while she is there, she takes advice on what to do next.’
Ferguson is reportedly popular among staff, who are willing to listen as she voices fears for her security when she is finally outside the protective grounds of Royal Lodge.
The Sun reported a source saying: ‘Sarah, in particular, is panicking about what comes next and she is not in a good place.
‘She fears being caught in the crosshairs and is worried about herself and her and Andrew’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.
‘But she is particularly fearful for Andrew as she knows he was at the centre of the Epstein scandal.’
The pair are being forced out of the Windsor property, after King Charles stripped his younger brother of his titles and honours.
Andrew, who moved in back in 2004, is headed for a property on the King’s Norfolk estate, paid for by the monarch, but Fergie’s future remains unclear.
The disgraced former prince’s ties to disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein had piled untold pressure on the royals. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
Andrew, who has been told by US Congressmen to appear before them to explain what he knew about Epstein’s criminal empire, has been ‘spending a lot of time alone’, the source said.
‘Andrew rarely goes out and has been padding around the lodge and ranting and muttering,’ the source added.
They continued: ‘But the one thing that brings them together is their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie — as they both want to shield them as much as possible from what is going on.’
The insider went on: ‘He has lost a bit of his arrogance since being stripped of his titles.’
Andrew has faced the added humiliation of seeing his name stripped from streets, monuments and institutions around the world.
Residents living in roads named after the late Queen’s third child have called for their names to be changed
Maidenhead’s Prince Andrew Road and the adjoining Prince Andrew Close were named after him after his birth in 1960.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said that any formal application would be considered in line with its procedures.
Andrew was one of many high-profile friends of Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges.
Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, alleged that she was forced into several sexual encounters with Andrew while being trafficked by Epstein, which Andrew has always denied.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.