News
3 November, 2025
Former Prince Andrew may be forced to move to Hillview Estate - Sutton Forest
Hillview Heritage Estate is located at Sutton Forest, the historic former country home of the governors of New South Wales, is being restored by the King's Foundation Australia.
Hillview Heritage Estate is located at Sutton Forest, the historic former country home of former governors of New South Wales, is being restored by the King's Foundation Australia to offer practical training programs for artisans who work on heritage restoration. The project is modelled on the successful regeneration of Dumfries House in Scotland.
A series of emails between the former Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 surfaced last week. Andrew emphatically stated during an interview with Emily Maitlis for Newsnight , broadcast on 16 November 2019 by the BBC, that he had severed all contact with Epstein in December 2010. A swift decision to remove Andrew's titles was taken by King Charles III in light of Andrew’s serious lapses of judgement, which was supported by the wider Royal Family.
The former HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, now simply, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his titles and the honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order last Thursday and given notice to vacate Royal Lodge, a 30 room mansion in Windsor he had been renting for a peppercorn fee for more than 20 years.
Almost simultaneously, a posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl” by Virginia Giuffre - a prominent accuser of Epstein - alleged Andrew had sex with her three times as a teenager and that he, “Believed that having sex with me was his birthright.”
Andrew (65) has consistently denied Virginia Giuffre's allegations, with “no recollection" of meeting her and that the events she described "never happened". Despite his denials and publicly stating that he wanted his day in court, a settlement was reached in February 2022 to avoid a civil trial. Estimates suggest the settlement was around $24 million AUD. It was distributed to Giuffre's charity for abuse victims and her legal team. There was no admission of liability by the former Prince.
Virginia Giuffre, aged 41, died by suicide in April 2025 on her farm in Western Australia. Three weeks before she died, she emailed her co-author, journalist Amy Wallace, and publicist Dini von Mueffling, “In the event of my passing, I would like to ensure that Nobody's Girl is still released.”
The British public are backing the King’s decision - according to a YouGov poll, 79 per cent of people were in favour of taking away the titles and 53 per cent thought the King had now done all that he could. There were 58 per cent who thought this action should have come sooner, with concerns that the royals had been too slow to take action over the Epstein matter.
Buckingham Palace has said Andrew's move from Royal Lodge to Sandringham will take place "as soon as possible and practicable”. But according to royal sources, a delay in Andrew moving until the new year would avoid the embarrassment of him being in Sandringham at Christmas - where the Royal Family traditionally gathers for the Christmas holidays.
Andrew will move to an undisclosed property on the privately-owned estate, with the accommodation funded by the King who will also make private financial provisions for his brother.
Sandringham was bought in 1862 by the then Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII, as a private country retreat. The estate in Norfolk, spans approximately 20,000 acres with 600 acres of gardens. Andrew is unlikely to move into Sandringham's Wood Farm, his late father, Prince Philip’s former home.
The British Government has no immediate plans to pass a law to formally remove Andrew from the line of succession. He remains eighth in line to the throne, the only significant position he still holds - but there have been calls by the British public to bring in legislation to stop any chance of him becoming King.
Andrew may eventually be moved “down under” when HRH Prince William becomes the King, according to a Southern Wire source and former Royal staff member of William’s, who said, “William is keen to create as much distance as possible from Andrew and the Monarchy."
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, 66, has been challenged by her own links with Epstein, especially as she is an author of popular children’s books. She will now move out of Royal Lodge and will make her own living arrangements. It is believed she will move to Australia where her sister, Jane has lived for decades. Jane is currently in the UK to support Sarah during this difficult time.
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