Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (66) is back in the saddle again. After royal advisors had banned King Charles III's disgraced brother from riding for months, he was photographed on a horse this week for the first time since his withdrawal in February. As "The Sun" reports, Andrew rode across the Sandringham estate in Norfolk County for about an hour wearing a blue shirt.
However, the pleasure is unlikely to last long. According to the report, the horses that King Charles sent from Windsor to give his brother something to do are only on short-term loan. An insider tells the newspaper the reason for the loan: "He is bored out of his mind, so even a horse for a few days is better than just sitting around doing nothing." When Andrew still lived in Windsor, he rode regularly.
Why the palace stopped the riding
The fact that riding became a political issue for the 66-year-old at all has a specific reason. Royal advisors had banned him from the hobby after his arrest because they feared a "bad image" while he is under investigation. They didn't want to see him grinning and smiling in the saddle again, as previous photos had shown him in the midst of the scandal surrounding convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein. In palace circles, such images were considered inappropriate.
The riding ban went into effect in February after the King evicted his younger brother from the Royal Lodge in Windsor. Andrew now lives on the Marsh Farm estate in Sandringham and largely avoids the public eye. Only last month did he appear again at a public event when he watched his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at the Sandringham Festival of Carriage Driving.
On his birthday, February 19, the former British trade envoy was arrested by Thames Valley Police. The charge is misconduct in public office. Officers are examining whether Andrew passed government information to his friend Epstein. Andrew denies any wrongdoing. His royal titles were stripped from Andrew.
