Removal vans have reportedly been spotted at Royal Lodge as former prince Andrew prepares to move out of the spotlight to a smaller “ramshackle” home on a private royal estate.

British media reports that removal trucks arrived at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s home of two decades earlier this week – while, in Norfolk, renovations were under way at the home he is expected to move into.

Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of the King, has been forced to move from the heritage-listed Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, after years of scandal over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In October, the King stripped him of all his titles, including Duke of York and prince, and ordered ​him to vacate the 30-room mansion and move to private accommodation on the Sandringham estate.

Few details have been given about when 65-year-old Mountbatten-Windsor will actually move – or where he will make his new home.

But there have been some clues, with workers spotted installing a dish for satellite TV at Marsh Farm on the estate this week. Other workers were seen installing security lights, while other security measures were also under way.

Some months ago, a no-fly ban in the area was extended to cover the farmhouse, which is in Wolferton, about 3.5 kilometres from Sandringham House.

The Sun reported that 1.8-metre timber fences have also recently been installed around the brick home to make it more private for Mountbatten-Windsor.

“Workers have also begun renovating inside the ramshackle farm buildings, which have been empty for several years,” the tabloid reported.

Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate, which is believed to be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s next home. Photo: AAP

Marsh Farm is said to have two reception rooms, a kitchen and several other outbuildings. There is at least one business nearby.

The property is privately owned by the King, so will not come with the concerns about peppercorn rentals that helped end Mountbatten-Windsor’s tenancy at Royal Lodge.

Insiders have told The Sun that the farmhouse, its surrounding outhouses and stables were previously home to a tenant farmer who died some time ago.

The property has been empty for several years and, as well as redecoration, reportedly needs work to its electrical and sewerage systems.

That work is expected to be finished by April, with British media reporting the King is picking up the tab.

“The snow or rain hasn’t delayed the work on Marsh Farm, but it still needs a lot of attention to make it habitable. But one thing for sure is that it is a lot, lot smaller and less luxurious than Royal Lodge,” a source told The Sun.

Construction equipment has been seen at the farmhouse this week. Photo: AAP

While no firm date has been given for Mountbatten-Windsor to move in, he is expected to soon move temporarily to an even smaller property at Sandringham.

Buckingham Palace said last year the steps taken against him were necessary to protect the monarchy’s reputation. It said the King’s thoughts and sympathies in the fallout from the Epstein relationship were with the victims of abuse.

Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied allegations that ​he ​sexually abused Virginia Giuffre. The American ​woman, who married an Australian, said she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with the former prince as a teenager – a claim Mountbatten-Windsor settled in a US civil lawsuit in 2022 without admitting liability.

Giuffre took her own life in Western Australia in April last year.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

-with AAP