Andrew Mountbatten Windsor might not vacate the Royal Lodge until early next year, potentially receiving a £500,000 compensation upon his eventual departure.

The 65-year-old royal, who has fallen out of favor, has already relinquished his lease on the expansive 30-room Windsor estate and plans to relocate to a new residence within the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Speculation is mounting over whether Andrew could receive a substantial refund from the Crown Estate once he exits the property.

Having paid a nominal ‘peppercorn rent’ for over two decades, the former Duke of York held a lease extending until 2078.

Back in 2003, Andrew invested more than £8 million upfront for leasing and renovating the residence, which might entitle him to a refund exceeding £500,000.

The agreement stipulated that should he exit within the initial 25 years, he could reclaim a portion of his pre-paid funds.

The revelations come as Andrew last night began the ‘protracted’ process of becoming a private citizen after he was stripped of his Prince title.

Buckingham Palace added that Andrew will be thrown out of Royal Lodge and essentially be banished from royal life for good.

He is now due to move to a private property on the monarch’s Sandringham estate but it may take months for Andrew to leave Windsor for good. 

It is understood the delay will allow the Royal Family to avoid a potentially awkward encounter during their traditional Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, The Telegraph has reported. 

Andrew is understood to be ‘sanguine’ about the dramatic change in his circumstances which are a ‘culmination’ of recent revelations. 

These include that Andrew told his friend, the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, that ‘we are in this together’, as exclusively revealed by the Mail – forced Charles’ hand, Mr Dimbleby told the BBC.

‘I suspect he will be feeling a measure of relief,’ he said of Charles. ‘His brother – this is not an easy thing for any brother to do, to be banished, eternal imprisonment in a way, on Sandringham Estate.’

He added: ‘We know his brother was boorish, arrogant, entitled, that he made an awful lot of bad friendships, all sorts of questions about how he got his own money – there is a lot that will be discussed.

‘If there are further investigations, which I’m sure there will be into Andrew himself, the King himself will be quite separate from that and more importantly the institution of the monarchy will be detached from that.’

The family of Virginia Giuffre – who claimed to have been trafficked to and made to have sex with Andrew at 17 – are now calling for him to face justice in the US, where he could potentially be extradited as an ‘ordinary member of the public’.

In a cold statement, the palace said: ‘His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. 

‘Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.

‘Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.

‘These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.

‘Their Majesties 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.’

Andrew will now have to face a new reality – one which could see him distanced from his beloved daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, according to royal experts.

Royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail their relationship will ‘change drastically’.

‘His daughters will want to keep as much distance as possible from him. It will be devastating for them.’

Princesses Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, will retain their Royal titles despite their father no longer being a prince.

Angela Levin, a royal commentator and biographer, told the Daily Mail the pair will want to avoid him as much as possible but might have to ‘step up’ and parent their father if he becomes ‘desperate’.

She said: ‘I think Andrew will feel so crumbled about what has happened. He’s always been so pompous and trusting himself as being so clever.

‘For him to have everything taken away, and for that to happen in front of your children, who are grown up and can understand what he is being accused of, is very embarrassing to him, and for his own children.

‘He will have to lean on them if he has no one else.’