‘Blonde and a red-head’: Disgraced ex-Prince Andrew spotted with two women in South of France as claims emerge he’s ‘looking for a property’ with King’s knowledge

The 66-year-old disgraced former Duke of York was stripped of his remaining titles and evicted from Royal Lodge following the release of the Epstein files in February.

Andrew was subsequently arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He has since been released under investigation and strenuously denies any wrongdoing.

However, despite reports that the former prince has been shunned from royal life and wider society, biographer Andrew Lownie has claimed his existence is far less secluded than the public has been led to believe.

The royal author says Andrew has been travelling in France and is now reportedly “looking for a property in the region”-  with the King allegedly aware of his movements.

Lownie, bestselling author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, made the bombshell claims in his Substack, The Lownie Report, on Tuesday, revealing Andrew had been spotted travelling around the South of France after visiting a stud farm in the country.

“Andrew has not been stuck forlornly in Marsh Farm over the summer. He retains his passport and regularly travels abroad with the knowledge of the King,” Lownie claimed.

“After his visit to a French stud farm near St Malo as the guest of the billionaire Mohammed A Baker, CEO of the retailer Sun and Sand Sports, Andrew has been in the South of France where he was spotted in red baseball-cap, white trousers, Timberland shoes and Ray Ban glasses and accompanied by two forty-something women – one blond and the other with red hair.”

Lownie continued: “It is said he is looking for a property in the region.”

The new claims surrounding Andrew’s movements come shortly after Lownie told News24.com.au that his supposedly secluded existence on the King’s private Sandringham estate is little more than “window dressing”.

“Andrew is on a private estate; we don’t know his comings and goings,” Lownie claimed.

“He can get out by lying in a car, and people can be brought in to see him.

“So I suspect again, the idea that he’s under house arrest and basically in isolation is all just window dressing.”

Lownie claimed it suited both Andrew and the royal family for the public to believe the disgraced former working royal was living quietly and largely cut off from the outside world.

“And so it suits everyone’s purposes to give the impression that he’s basically under lock and key, [but] actually nothing much has changed except he’s in a slightly smaller house,” he said.

The British historian believes the 77-year-old monarch has adopted a “softly, softly containment” strategy towards his younger brother, attempting to keep Andrew close enough to control without provoking him into making potentially damaging disclosures.

“The King is in a difficult position, because he doesn’t want to antagonise the family too much, because he kind of wants to keep them in the tent,” Lownie said.

“And the danger is they go away and do all sorts of crazy things.”

Lownie suggested the Palace was attempting to carefully contain the wider York family rather than cutting them off entirely, despite the reputational damage caused by years of scandal.

“So I think it’s a softly, softly containment at the moment,” he said.

“And again, I’m sensing that what is there for public consumption, and what is the reality, are two very different things.”

While Andrew has reportedly been travelling to and from France, his ex-wife, Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson, is also said to have been relying on wealthy friends for accommodation following her public fallout.

It has been widely reported that the 66-year-old former Duchess of York is currently with her daughter Eugenie in Melides, near Lisbon, spending time with her new granddaughter, Adelaide.

According to Lownie, surprisingly, Fergie has also “met up with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle” during their recent visit to Europe.

It is unknown whether Andrew has met Adelaide in person since her birth on August 3.

However, it is understood that both Eugenie and Beatrice have maintained a closer relationship with their mother than their father following the Epstein fallout.