Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson To Separate After 20 Years As Royal Lodge Removal Vans Arrive: Report

For nearly twenty years, they have been inseparable. Not as husband and wife—that ended in 1996—but as something more unusual: an ex-couple who chose to build a life together.

At Royal Lodge, their sprawling 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson created an unconventional existence, sheltered from public scrutiny. That chapter is about to close, and not on their own terms.

On Wednesday morning, 14 January, a large removal van pulled through the gates of Royal Lodge in Windsor. The moment was symbolic, captured in photographs across the British press: the physical manifestation of an end to an arrangement that has puzzled observers for decades.

This is not a leisurely departure stretched across months. Sources suggest Andrew could be completely gone from the property by the end of this month, or certainly before his sixty-sixth birthday on 19 February—far sooner than the one-year window initially anticipated.

For Andrew, the swift exit represents a decision to reclaim some agency in an otherwise humiliating situation. His friend revealed his reasoning plainly: 'He's finally decided he needs to get on with his life and so is moving out sooner than thought and starting afresh by the end of the month, or at least before his birthday in February.'

More significantly, this separation from Ferguson marks a watershed moment. The friend added: 'He and Sarah will go their own separate ways for the first time in almost 20 years. Apart from involvement with the children and grandchildren, they will live separate lives.'​

The Mechanics Of Forced Departure

The mechanics of Andrew's removal are now in motion. Marsh Farm, a modest five-bedroom property on the Sandringham Estate near the village of Wolferton, is being prepared for his arrival.

The contrast could hardly be starker. Where Royal Lodge offered grandeur, history, and vast rooms, Marsh Farm is described bluntly by those familiar with it as 'a lot, lot smaller and less luxurious than Royal Lodge.'​

Renovation work has accelerated dramatically. At least six workers were spotted on site during freezing weather, digging out drainage systems, installing fencing, and erecting CCTV cameras.

Engineers from Sky VIP have been deployed to ensure the property will have proper broadband and television connectivity—a detail that speaks volumes about how Andrew intends to spend his remaining years. The farmhouse, long abandoned, requires extensive attention to become properly habitable.​

Notably, Andrew will not move directly into Marsh Farm. Instead, he is expected to relocate initially to a smaller, temporary property elsewhere on the Sandringham Estate—possibly Wood Farm or York Cottage—until the renovations are complete around Easter.

This interim arrangement, whilst still a dramatic step down, buys time for the main residence to be made ready.

Sarah Forges Her Own Path: The Duchess's Fresh Start

Ferguson's position remains more uncertain, but equally consequential. Unlike Andrew, who will remain under the protective umbrella of the Crown Estate and the King's private funding, Ferguson is charting an independent course.

A spokesperson confirmed that the Duchess is 'exploring several options at the moment, and no final choice has been reached.' Reports indicate she is searching for property in the Windsor area—close enough to remain near her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, but physically and symbolically separate from the man she divorced thirty years ago.​

This separation is particularly significant because it closes a chapter in an already complicated personal history. Sarah and Andrew married in 1986, separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996, yet continued living together at Royal Lodge from 2008 onwards.

That unusual arrangement—rare even in royal circles—has now become untenable. What began as a pragmatic arrangement has been overtaken by events entirely beyond their control: Andrew's associations with Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent stripping of his royal titles.

The backdrop to this removal is unambiguous and inescapable. In October 2025, King Charles initiated formal proceedings to remove Andrew's royal titles, styling, and honours following renewed scrutiny into his connections to Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in 2019.

Andrew has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and paid millions to settle a civil lawsuit brought against him. Nonetheless, the palace's decision was unprecedented and unforgiving. Andrew is now simply Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—a private citizen forced out of his home after two decades.​

The removal van pulling away from Royal Lodge on that cold January morning was more than a logistical event. It represented the final severing of an old life and the beginning of something austere and contained.

For both Andrew and Sarah, that represents a new and far more solitary chapter.