Re-route: Prince Andrew may be on the naughty step but that didn’t stop broadcaster Chris Evans from trying to take a detour through his property on Sunday
Chris Evans tried to take a shortcut through disgraced Prince Andrew’s Windsor estate today only for guards to tell him off after stopping him in his £1.2million Aston Martin.
Chris, 53, was spotted in his 1964 DB5 convertible on his way back from donating a washing machine to the local community project in Windsor, heading home to his mansion in Ascot via Windsor Great Park.
The radio star decided to take a shortcut, via Bishopsgate, which cuts through the Great Park, typically only restricted to authorised guests, staff and residents.
Scandal-hit Andrew, who is facing a huge backlash over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was keeping a low profile on the estate in his £6,000-a-month rented Royal Lodge.
The Duke of York, who lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, stepped down from Royal duties last week following his disastrous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.
Security has increased at the gates since the prince, 59, took part in the BBC interview, during which he denied having sex with Virginia Roberts, who was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager.
The entrance at his home has a sign on it, stating ‘under no circumstances can it be used as a shortcut’, but Evans tried to cut through anyway.
Access denied? Chris, 53, was spotted in his £1.2 million 1964 Aston Martin DB5 convertible on his way back from donating a washing machine to the local community project in Windsor, heading home to Ascot
Bumper to bumper: Other vehicles, including a £50k Classic Rolls Royce Cornicche, were seen lining up to get through the private gates
Under pressure: Prince Andrew was forced to step down from his royal duties as a result of the Newsnight interview
This photograph, published for the first time in its entirety, shows the interior of the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend. The prince has his arm around 17-year-old Virginia Roberts and Miss Maxwell smiles from the background
Evans owns a 17th Century mansion in Ascot and driving through the private Great Park cuts off a considerable chunk of the route, and avoids the busier A roads, often crammed with Legoland traffic (although the theme park is now closed for the winter).
He was reprimanded by the guards but appeared to be granted access after all, along with other vehicles, including a £50k Classic Rolls Royce Cornicche.
When married, Prince Andrew and wife Sarah lived closer to Chris’ Ascot property, at Sunninghill Park.
The Royal Lodge was previously the private residence of the Queen Mother for over 70 years. It was gifted to Prince Andrew in 2003, after the Queen Mother died a year before.
Chris lives in Ascot his wife Natasha and their children Noah, 10, Eli, seven and 19-month old twins Walt and Boo. He also has a daughter, Jade, 33, with his former-fiancée Alison Ward, whom he split from in the mid-1990s.
This year, he purchased a £4 million ‘crash-pad’ in Marlow, 15 miles away, said to be so that he could spend time with chef pal Tom Kerridge, who owns The Hand And Flowers restaurant in the village.
Meanwhile, the royal scandal was revved up this week after it was claimed Prince Andrew’s nephew The Duke of Cambridge is ‘not a huge fan’ of his uncle.
This comes after it was claimed that the prince ‘hoodwinked’ the Queen by not warning her he was about to discuss the scandal at length in the disastrous BBC interview with Emily Maitlis.
Andrew and the Queen had a ‘son-to-mother’ conversation, in which he let her know he was going to talk about his relationship with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein but ‘without going into details’, a royal source said.
The Duke of Cambridge was unhappy with his uncle’s behaviour and decided his removal from public life was ‘the right thing to do’, a source told The Sunday Times.
Another said he had spoken to the Queen and Prince Charles about Andrew’s future, adding: ‘William is becoming more and more involved in decisions about the institution [monarchy] and he’s not a huge fan of his uncle Andrew.’
A royal mess: Prince William (left, at a conservation event last week) is ‘not a huge fan’ of his Andrew, it is claimed, and spoke to the Queen and Prince Charles (right, during a royal tour of the Solomon Islands today) about removing him from public life
It emerged that the Andrew’s former wife and their eldest daughter Princess Beatrice were among the key figures pressing him to go ahead with last weekend’s much-criticised Newsnight interview.
The Mail understands that the Duchess of York had been keen to end the speculation about Andrew’s involvement with convicted paedophile and sex trafficker ahead of Beatrice’s wedding to property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi next year.
Fergie is also believed to have been convinced that if the public could see the Duke – or ‘my boy’, as she is said to call him – talking in his own words about the scandal, they would be convinced that he was telling the truth.
She could hardly have been more wrong. Last week, Andrew stepped down from Royal duties amid unrelenting criticism of his performance.
Confide in me: Andrew and the Queen (who are seen together riding in Windsor on November 22) had a ‘son-to-mother’ conversation, in which he let her know he was going to talk about his relationship with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein but ‘without going into details’
Brotherly tension? Andrew (left) with Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at a Christmas Day service in Norfolk in 2011
