Workers install Sky TV and security fence at ‘Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s next home’ on Sandringham farm as he prepares to leave Royal Lodge

Workers are installing Sky TV and a new security fence around the run-down farm believed to be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s next home.

Marsh Farm on the King’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk is being renovated ahead of the former Duke’s arrival – as he prepares to leave Royal Lodge ahead of his 66th birthday next month.

The sky engineers were spotted on stairs leaning against the walls of the red-brick property in Wolferton, just three kilometers west of the Monarch’s Sandringham House.

In some parts of the perimeter, a five-foot-tall forest barricade has risen in place of the flimsy wire fences that previously allowed a good view of the road.

Workers were seen driving JCBs and installing security lights on the walls, and a van belonging to a local security firm was parked in the gravel driveway.

This week, a team of at least six people has been battling the cold and rain.

It is believed that all these changes were made in anticipation of Andrew moving into the house after returning his lease to Royal Lodge in October.

He will first move into a temporary, smaller property on the King’s Norfolk estate later this month. Sun.

A team of at least six people has been working on the farm this week despite the cold and rain

Workers are believed to be trying to prepare the place for Andrew’s arrival around Easter time

A sturdy 1.8 meter high wooden fence was erected around parts of the perimeter with the help of JCB

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor cycles through the pouring rain at Windsor Estate on Tuesday morning

It will remain there until Easter, when work on Marsh Farm is scheduled to be completed.

A Palace insider said: ‘Snow or rain has not delayed work at Marsh Farm but it still needs a lot of attention to make it liveable.’

‘But one thing is for sure, it is much, much smaller and less luxurious than the Royal Lodge.’

It turned out that the farmhouse and the surrounding outbuildings belonged to a former tenant who died a while ago.

Last fall, drones were banned from flying over the land.

The Sandringham no-fly zone was extended to the property at the end of last year.

The farm is located in the secluded village of Wolferton, which has a church and social club but no pub or village shop.

It is also close to King’s Wood Farm, the estate where Prince Philip lived after his retirement.

A worker takes measurements to install new security lights on one of the red brick walls

A JCB digger and a minibus belonging to a local security firm were parked in the driveway this week.

Marsh Farm is much smaller than what Andrew was used to at Royal Lodge in Windsor

Wooden panels replaced the flimsy wires that stood before and allowed a good view of the road

Marsh Farm is three miles west of the Monarch’s Sandringham House

Andrew reportedly wanted to live at Wood Farm, a five-bedroom cottage, but there were concerns it would leave him ‘too close’ to the rest of the family.

On Saturday, the Mail revealed that Andrew’s Royal Lodge mansion had not been inspected once by the authorities in the 22 years he lived rent-free.

When the lease for the 30-room house was signed in 2003, it contained unique terms that included no rent but a costly preliminary renovation and maintenance plan.

The disgraced royal paid £8 million to repair the then-ruined property and promised to allow inspectors in at ‘all reasonable times’ to make sure it was taken care of.

In exchange, the freeholder, the independent company that manages Crown properties for the benefit of taxpayers, agreed to pay no rent for the duration of the 75-year lease.

However, no Crown Estate official inspected the Royal Lodge during Andrew’s time there; This has raised concerns of a ‘sweetheart deal’ at taxpayer expense.

Andrew still lives there with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and the work was completed before they moved out.

A friend told the Sun: ‘She’s finally decided she needs to move on so she’s moving out sooner than she thought and starting over towards the end of the month, or at least before her birthday in February. ‘He and Sarah will go their separate ways for the first time in almost 20 years.’

Despite divorcing in 1996, Fergie has been with her disgraced ex-husband since 2008 during World War II. He lives in a grade-listed manor house.

The former duchess once told the Daily Mail: ‘We are the happiest divorced couple in the world. ‘We divorced each other, not each other.’

While he is reportedly continuing to look for a new property, he is understood to be considering a ‘granny annexe’ next to Princess Beatrice in the Cotswolds or considering a move to Portugal with Princess Eugenie.

Andrew was forced to leave the Royal Lodge and public life in the face of a snowballing scandal over his relationship with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

One of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17.

Andrew has always denied the allegations but paid millions as a settlement to Ms Giuffre, who died in April last year.

Emails emerged last year that revealed Andrew continued his relationship with Epstein for longer than he admitted, and also revealed that the then-prince had met Ms Giuffre despite his claims to the contrary.

Under pressure from his brother King Charles, Andrew renounced his titles before his Prince status was stripped from him in November.