His Majesty King Charles III has been granted planning permission to add a bog at his Norfolk residence, Sandringham, and it is bad news for his disgraced brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as it will be on the land right by his home, Marsh Farm.
Recently, Charles moved a herd of cows onto the site, and this change would enable them to feed more effectively. The cows are a breed of British Whites, and they are among the earliest recorded domestic cattle breeds in Britain and have roots dating back to Norfolk from the late 1700s.
The monarch was given the green light by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Council for the bog project, and once the nod is given by Natural England, work can commence.
© UK Press via Getty ImagesIt will involve creating an area of wetland for the aforementioned cattle to graze. The area, near Wolferton, where Andrew now lives, is an area of former marshland, reclaimed via drainage, but Charles plans to create a series of "bunds" to retain water, to make the land a bog again.
The application explains: "Rewetting the land will be achieved via a gravity-fed inundation from the River Ingol via a scrape.
"The water will then be retained by a slight change in levels including the creation of perimeter bunds around the edge of the site."
© Getty ImagesThis change may not be a welcome one for Andrew, as previously the wetland has been negatively described. In the book, The King's Homeland (circa 1904) reads: "For a few minutes' stroll along the rough marsh roadway, which branches off from the main road through the village near a farmhouse known as the Marsh Farm, will bring him to the embankment, or sea-wall, which protects the reclaimed land from the sea.
"But he must not expect to find beyond this sea-wall a shingly beach or a stretch of golden sand, for not of such are the shores of Wash. Instead he will see, if the tide be out, an apparently limitless expanse of gleaming - and often steaming - ooze."
© Getty ImagesCharles is keen to maintain the estate for future generations and has already put in a variety of other conservation and sustainability measures like a biomass boiler to heat Sandringham House and a solar panel farm. In a lovely initiative, there is also a tree planted for every visitor to the estate.
More privacy for Andrew
The news of this change comes as Sandringham has now closed its doors to visitors for the year. The property won't reopen now until spring 2027, and this major change will bring extra privacy to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s life in exile.
© Getty ImagesThe disgraced former royal, who has been put up on the estate by his brother, King Charles. Whilst Andrew's former farmhouse home, Marsh Farm, is situated around two-three miles from the main house, the opening period would have increased visitor volumes and made the wider estate busier.
Since Andrew moved into the property, he has occasionally been spotted walking his dogs within the estate's grounds. Andrew is in possession of corgis that he originally bought for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. After her death, the dogs were left in his care.
