BREAKING.
The former Duke of York was reportedly walking his dogs when a balaclava-clad man jumped out of a vehicle and ran at him, sparking a chase as Andrew and his bodyguard fled the scene.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was allegedly threatened by a balaclava-clad assailant close to his new home on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
The former prince was reportedly walking his dogs at around 7.30pm on Wednesday when the suspect is understood to have leapt from a vehicle and shouted at him, prompting Andrew and a member of his private security team to sprint to their nearby car.
According to accounts of the incident, the suspect then chased the vehicle on foot as Mountbatten-Windsor and his protection officer sped off down a lane just outside Sandringham Royal Parkland. Police were called and the man was detained at the scene.
A Norfolk Police spokesman said: “Officers were called to Wolferton shortly after 7.30pm on Wednesday following a report that a man was behaving in an intimidating manner in the village.
“Officers attended, and the man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon. He was taken to King’s Lynn Police Investigation Centre for questioning, and remains in custody.”
The incident is not being treated as terror-related, according to a police source, with one line of inquiry understood to be that the suspect is a “fixated individual.” Statements have been taken from witnesses, including Mountbatten-Windsor and his personal protection officer.
No more royal protection
The arrest puts a fresh spotlight on the security arrangements around the disgraced former royal, who lost his rights to state-funded police protection in early 2022 after being stripped of his His Royal Highness (HRH) styling.
The change came amid the civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, which Andrew settled for millions of pounds while admitting no wrongdoing. His military titles and royal patronages were also handed back to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the same time.
Private security firm Westminster Security — founded by a former Royal Military Police close protection officer — has previously noted that Andrew was no longer entitled to protection from the UK’s Royalty and Specialist Protection (RASP) unit once he stepped back from public duties.
His former home in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, close to Windsor Castle, had operated behind what was widely described as a “ring of steel.” The set-up at Sandringham is markedly different.
Living off the King’s allowance
As Sandringham is a private estate rather than an official royal residence, Andrew is covered by the security infrastructure King Charles inherited from the late Queen — not by a personal state-funded detail. The estate has limited public access and Mountbatten-Windsor’s residence, Marsh Farm, sits within its 20,000 acres.
Flight restrictions over the estate were introduced at the request of security services after drones were spotted overhead during a visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The former prince pays for his own private security out of an allowance provided by the King to cover his living expenses at Marsh Farm. Sandringham itself is guarded separately, with direct links to Norfolk Constabulary.
A royal source said: “The King makes a lump sum financial provision to cover Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s living expenses, which includes private security protection, but it is up to him how that sum is allocated or utilised.”
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