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In early February, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the British Royal Family member formerly known as Prince Andrew, moved into Wood Farm, a five-bedroom cottage, on the grounds of the British royal family’s Sandringham estate. The relocation followed his expulsion from Royal Lodge, his longtime home near Windsor Castle, as well as the removal of his titles, including the Duke of York, both due to his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Wood Farm is supposed to be a “temporary” home for Mountbatten-Windsor, as his future residence also at Sandringham, Marsh Farm, is updated with added security measures. But it was at this short-term home that the Thames Valley Police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor at around 8 am on Thursday, February 19 (also his 66th birthday). He remained in custody for roughly 11 hours “on suspicion of misconduct in public office,” per the AP, before being released. The younger brother of King Charles III is the first member of the royal family to be arrested in more than 375 years. Authorities searched both Wood Farm as well as his former residence at Windsor amid their investigation.
Experts believe Mountbatten-Windsor could face the rest of his life behind bars if convicted of misconduct while in public office. As the saga plays out, here’s a deep dive into the history of the site of the arrest and Mountbatten-Windsor’s current home, Wood Farm.
Early Sandringham
A little over 100 miles north of London and spanning 20,000 acres, Sandringham is one of the British Royal Family’s few privately owned estates and is the site of their annual Christmas gathering. It is located in the Norfolk countryside.
While the estate gets its name from King William I’s famed Domesday Book from 1086, the first recorded owners were the Irish Cobbe family starting in 1517, followed by the Hoste family in 1686. Fast-forward two centuries, and reigning monarch Queen Victoria acquired Sandringham from Charles Spencer Cowper, stepson of then-Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston. She bought the estate in 1862 for her oldest son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII.
At the time, Wood Farm was already part of the estate. The five-bedroom cottage, a few miles from the main Sandringham House, is located near the village of Wolferton and overlooks a bay that connects to the North Sea. The structure features vernacular-style architecture made of interconnected long, narrow volumes made of brown brick and topped with a beige roof.
1910: Prince John’s Home
After the death of King Edward VII in 1910, George V ascended the throne. The monarch and his wife, Queen Mary, sent their youngest child, Prince John, to live at Wood Farm with a nurse, as he suffered from epilepsy. Mary’s biographers believe the couple sent the prince there to shield him from public scrutiny, per Vanity Fair. His grandmother, Queen Alexandra, was a frequent visitor, and John is reported to have kept a garden and chickens.
Prince John died at Wood Farm in 1919 at age 13. He is buried at the chapel on the grounds of Sandringham.
1919–1960s: Rental Property
In the wake of Prince John’s death, the family decided to lease out Wood Farm, as they had done with other Sandringham properties (including a house on the grounds leased to Princess Diana’s family). They ultimately rented it to their physician, James Ansell, who tended to a young Princess Elizabeth (who became Queen Elizabeth II) in the late 1940s and examined her father, King George VI, before his death in 1952. Ansell lived at Wood Farm until the 1960s.
1967: Prince Philip’s Refuge
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Queen Elizabeth II on the 30th anniversary of her reign, with the Duke of Edinburgh on their estate at Sandringham, Norfolk.
Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, took a liking to Wood Farm after Ansell’s departure, favoring the smaller scale of the cottage as more practical alternative to the massive Jacobean palace that Sandringham House had become. Staying at Sandringham required a whole slew of staff to be present, whereas Wood Farm was a more economical affair.
Philip also enjoyed its isolated setting amid pheasant-hunting grounds but still close to the property’s horse stables and the train station in town. He even decorated the house with his own art, per Vanity Fair. Perhaps not surprisingly, given his father’s affection for the property, Prince Charles—now King Charles III—was known to have spent time at Wood Farm growing up. He even took Princess Diana to stay there with the Queen during their courtship. Sarah Ferguson, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Princess Catherine have all stayed at Wood Farm as well.
Upon retiring in 2017, Prince Philip moved to full-time to Wood Farm, where the Queen would often visit. He died in 2021 at Windsor Castle.
2026: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Moves In
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An entrance to Wood Farm on February 23, 2026, a few days after the former Prince Andrew was arrested.
In October 2025, King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson of their royal titles and evicted them from Royal Lodge, their longtime home at Windsor, as a result of their ties to Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor vacated the estate in early February and moved to Wood Farm. This “temporary” arrangement was in place while workers made renovations to Marsh Farm, also on the grounds of Sandringham, including enhancing security measures.
Police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor at Wood Farm on February 19 and conducted a search of the residence in the aftermath of his arrest. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the case. It’s not clear if he will stay at Wood Farm as he awaits a potential trial.
Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.