Every time I see photos of Marsh Farm, I think “what a charming home.” I guess that’s the point of all of the reporting about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at this point – we’re supposed to gawk at how this royal prince is being forced out of his palatial mansion and ordered to “slum it” in a charming four-bedroom country home in Norfolk. Reportedly, Marsh Farm has been uninhabited for years, and I’m sure the interiors were in poor shape. But King Charles is “privately” financing all of the renovations and upgrades to Marsh Farm, and I honestly think it looks like such a sweet little “retirement home.” Most normal people would love the quiet simplicity of living in such a manageable house with plenty of private land to roam. Well, apparently Andrew visited Marsh Farm last week and he was aghast.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has carried out a discreet first visit to his new home on the Sandringham estate, even as suggestions grow that he may ultimately rebuild his life in Bahrain. The King’s brother, stripped of royal duties over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, travelled to Norfolk this week to look over the smaller property set to replace his long-time base at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The Sun said he was “measuring up the curtains,” while sources told the paper he has accepted the move is happening. His new home—the unpromisingly named Marsh Farm—has been ringed with fencing of around six feet and security has been stepped up, with police seen patrolling in unmarked cars and local residents noticing a stream of vehicles around the site.

On Tuesday morning, the Sun’s Matt Wilkinson says, he was spotted entering the estate via one of the quieter farm-track routes rather than the main gates, and his signature fleet of black Range Rovers (he still has police protection) were later seen around Marsh Farm, which will become his permanent base once works are finished.

One friend said this was the first time he had been to Marsh Farm, suggesting he is not planning to spend much time there.

His biographer, Andrew Lownie, also believes Norfolk may be only a staging post. Lownie, who wrote the devastating book on the York family titled ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York’, told Page Six he has been informed that Andrew is expected to relocate to Bahrain in the longer term. Lownie points out that the Gulf state would give Andrew warm weather and distance from the British press, and he said the prince will spend significant time there once his affairs in the UK are organized. Lownie said he thought Andrew would remain in Britain for at least the remaining days of the shooting season, which largely winds down around February 1, before any extended stay abroad.

[From The Royalist Substack]

Lownie has been pushing that Bahrain theory for months now. I’ll believe it when I see it. I think at this point, at nearly 66 years old, Andrew doesn’t actually want to leave the UK, because even he knows that he’s safe and protected there. Whatever deal he worked out with Charles will ensure that he lives comfortably, just not lavishly. Now, I’ll buy that Andrew will begin traveling to friendly countries once the dust settles on this move, but I actually believe that he’s largely accepted whatever deal he and Charles negotiated.

Meanwhile, the Mail had an exclusive about Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s tattered relationship. They’re both being described as “fragile,” and Sarah bursts into tears on a regular basis. The Mail wrote: “The dwindling number who remain close to the couple have become increasingly worried about them both in recent weeks. Fergie has been prone to bursting into tears on a daily basis – while the collapse of Andrew’s social support network has already left him demoralised ahead of a move that will see him ever more cut off, they say.” Andrew’s Royal Lodge staff will not follow him to Marsh Farm either, so he’ll have to make do with part-time staff from the main house in Sandringham.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.