Now that Prince Andrew, after months of speculation, has finally been stripped of his titles by the King and ordered to leave Royal Lodge, his house on the Windsor estate, he is expected to end up on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. There are several houses where he could live on the 20,000 acre estate – many of them have been used as holiday lets – but the most likely candidate right now seems to be York Cottage.
Less than a mile from the main house at Sandringham, the cottage was originally built as an overflow for guests during the hunting season. It was then known as the Bachelor's Cottage, since most of the guests coming to shoot would have been unmarried. In 1893 it was given by the then Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) to his own son Prince George, then the Duke of York, at which time it took on its current name. Before that it had been home to Prince George's elder brother, the scandalous Prince Albert (known as Eddy), who died of flu in 1922.
George and his wife Mary (who would become King George V and Queen Mary in 1910, and were grandparents to Queen Elizabeth II) lived in York Cottage for 33 years and reportedly adored it, only moving into the main house at Sandringham in 1925, long after they came to the throne. Since they departed, no member of the royal family has lived there.
In the intervening time, York Cottage has become the estate office, with part of the building divided off into holiday lets and accommodation for staff, meaning that the cottage will probably require extensive renovation before any disgraced former royals can move in. There was some speculation in 2018 that the cottage would be given to Harry and Meghan as a residence on their marriage, but this seemed to come to nothing, and the pair moved to Frogmore Cottage at Windsor.
The name of York Cottage might be a rather painful one for Andrew, since he is now no longer Duke of York, but perhaps it can go back to being the Bachelor's Cottage, since Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, will reportedly not be moving to Sandringham with him.
Other possible candidates on the Sandringham estate include Wood Farm, the former home of Prince Philip, although this is thought to be unlikely; Gardens House, a six bedroom house that was originally the home of the estate's head gardener; and Park House, once home to the Spencer family and the place where Princess Diana was born.
