Former Prince Andrew moves out of Royal Lodge in Windsor as “threesome” letter emerges in Epstein files

London — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles II who was previously known as Prince Andrew, has moved out of his sprawling Royal Lodge home in Windsor as further details emerge about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s move to Sandringham, King Charles’ massive private estate in Norfolk, eastern England, was announced by Buckingham Palace in October and had been expected in early 2026. 

No formal announcement was made by the royal family about the move, but CBS News understands that, as of Wednesday morning, Mountbatten-Windsor was living in Sandringham.

The quiet move came days after the U.S. Department of Justice released 3 million more documents and photos relating to Epstein, several of which reveal previously-unknown contacts between the former prince and the disgraced pedophile financier.

The documents published by the U.S. government include a 2011 letter from a lawyer claiming then-Prince Andrew and Epstein asked an unidentified “exotic dancer” to “engage in various sex acts” during a party with “other young women dressed provocatively,” some of whom “appeared to be as young as 14 years old.”

“Mr. Epstein and Prince Andrew then told my client they wanted to have a threesome,” the lawyer for the woman — who died in 2020 — writes in the letter. 

“After the men had satisfied themselves,” the letter continues, “they invited my client to take a trip with them to the Virgin Islands. She declined their invitation. She was then chauffeured back to the strip club.”

The lawyer goes on to allege that the woman was not paid what she was promised, and that she later agreed to keep her “interactions” with Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor private in return for $250,000.

The files also include an alleged exchange in 2010 between Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein in which the royal invites Epstein to have dinner at Buckingham Palace. In his reply, Epstein mentions that he is with several women, whose names are redacted, and he offers to “bring them all. So as to add some life.” 

“Yes, plenty of space here for chat,” Mountbatten-Windsor replies in the apparent exchange. “Bring them.”

In another email from a month before, Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly wrote to Epstein: “God it’s cold and dank here! Wish I was still a pet in your family!”

There were also photos released by the Justice Department, including an image in which Mountbatten-Windsor appears to be on all fours over a woman, whose face is obscured, lying on the floor. In another, he is shown touching a woman of the same appearance on the waist, looking down at her, and in a third his hand is seen on her stomach.

The woman’s identity, along with the location and date of the image, are unknown, but the revelations have piled more pressure on the king’s brother to explain himself. 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor under pressure to testify

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that Mountbatten-Windsor should cooperate with investigators.

“In terms of testifying, I’ve always said anybody who’s got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they’re asked to do that, because you can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that,” Starmer said.

Speaking to CBS News’ partner network BBC News on Wednesday, Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips said Andrew testifying, “would be everything.”

Mountbatten-Windsor has not replied to a request from U.S. House Oversight Committee members to hold a “transcribed interview” about his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein.

CBS News has reached out to Mountbatten-Windsor’s representatives for comment. He has not responded so far, and in the past has always denied any wrongdoing.

King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles last year, after intense scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein and accusations made by Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to engage in sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was underage. 

Mountbatten-Windsor denied those allegations, but reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022, paying her around  $16 million, according to British media reports. Giuffre died by suicide last year.

A sexual encounter at a royal residence?

On Tuesday, Thames Valley Police, which covers several counties in the south of England, said it was assessing allegations reported by the BBC that Epstein had sent a second woman to the U.K. for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor.

The alleged encounter occurred at Royal Lodge in Windsor, Andrew’s former home, in 2010, according to the BBC.

“We’re talking about at least one woman” apart from Giuffre, “who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew,” the unidentified second woman’s lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the British public broadcaster.

The woman, in her 20s at the time, was given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace after spending the night at the Royal Lodge, according to Edwards. According to the BBC, it is the first time an alleged Epstein survivor has claimed to have had a sexual encounter at a royal residence.

Mountbatten-Windsor moved to Sandringham — a 31-square mile estate with a number of separate houses — Monday night, but sources familiar with the matter said he could revisit Windsor over the coming weeks as he completes his move.

The former prince was last seen in Windsor on Monday, riding a horse near his former home.  

Justifying the decision last October to remove his royal titles and end his lease of the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the measures were “deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that [Mountbatten-Windsor] continues to deny the allegations against him.”

The palace statement added that King Charles and Queen Camilla “wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”