Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was forced out of Royal Lodge, moving to Norfolk in January this year – but there’s one item he couldn’t take with him. The ex-prince had a headline-making ancient sword, which was involved in a public ruse. Back in 2016, it was reported that Princess Beatrice was behind a scar on the British singer Ed Sheeran‘s face.
She reportedly used the sword to pretend to “knight” the British singer Sir James Blunt before he was actually knighted, at a party she held at Royal Lodge. The story goes that, as she performed the action, Beatrice accidentally cut Ed Sheeran’s face while he was standing behind his fellow singer.
Andrew lived at Royal Lodge for decades (Image: Getty)
James Blunt revealed that the story was a complete fabrication. “Ed was drunk, messing around and he cut himself,” the star told Shortlist. “We made a fancy story up; people fell for it. It was very embarrassing.”
Asked how much of the story had been invented, he replied: “All of it. Apart from the actual scar. It’s bizarre that people fell for it.”
James joked: “I blame him. He must be desperate – he’s trying to sell records. He cut himself and I just patched him up. It’s made him look prettier.”
In the made-up story, Princess Beatrice jokingly used the sword (Image: Getty)
James had also hinted the story was made up during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show: “If he [Ed] said his face got cut while she was ‘knighting’ me then dashed to A&E before returning to the party, then he is a liar,” the singer told the chat show host.
“For a start, she is a princess and would be rehearsed and practised in these matters, and given the NHS waiting lists, it would have been impossible to get to hospital and back so quickly.”
At the time of Andrew‘s move, The Times reported a long list of items that would not be moving with him.
The list included historical artworks and other priceless artefacts from his former home, which were set to be returned to the Royal Collection Trust.
The collection is one of the largest and most important in the world, held in trust by the King as Sovereign for his successors and the nation.