Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, once a familiar figure in Britain’s most exclusive social circles, is now regarded by many of his former acquaintances as an outcast.
Even so, speculation has emerged that the former prince may have found companionship while living in relative isolation at a farmhouse on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
The Mail on Sunday can identify the woman at the centre of those rumours as Aliba Bellingham, the sister of local Conservative grandee Lord Bellingham and a member of north Norfolk’s affluent social set, nicknamed the Turnip Toffs.
A passionate rider and hunting enthusiast, Ms Bellingham, now in her 60s, previously served as joint master of the Westmeath hunt in Ireland. She splits her time between London and Norfolk, where she keeps a caravan so she can remain close to her horses.
Raised in Norfolk, Ms Bellingham also has a longstanding royal connection. Her godmother was the late Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Lady Diana Spencer, who also grew up in the area. Ms Bellingham is understood to have known the 66-year-old Mountbatten-Windsor since childhood.
She has been spotted visiting his new residence, Marsh Farm, but denied on Saturday night that the pair are romantically involved.
Aliba Bellingham (pictured) has been linked by rumour to Prince Andrew, but denies that they are in a romantic relationship
Speculation about a new relationship has followed Andrew’s dramatic fall from royal favour
Ms Bellingham, who is in her 60s, divides her time between London and Norfolk, where she keeps a caravan near her horses
She did, however, confirm that the two have become friends and neighbours since the former prince was compelled to leave his Windsor mansion for Norfolk earlier this year.
‘We spend time together occasionally and talk about horses and dogs – those are the things we have in common,’ she said. ‘We get along well, and he is very fond of his horses.’
‘I am not someone who dwells on another person’s past. I think Andrew has found Norfolk welcoming and will enjoy living here.’
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‘But there is no question of me being a “girlfriend”; we are simply acquaintances. I believe the rumours began after an American journalist heard that I had taken tea with him and turned two and two into five.’
Ms Bellingham, who has two children, is divorced from businessman Sir Richard Rowley.
Her brother, Henry, represented North West Norfolk as a Conservative MP and served as a Foreign Office minister before entering the House of Lords as a life peer in 2020.
Baron Bellingham told the MoS that, because the family’s home is close to Sandringham, he and Aliba regularly played with Princes Andrew and Edward and Princess Anne during their childhood.
The two live close to one another, and Ms Bellingham says she has come to know the former prince as a friend and neighbour
Ms Bellingham, a mother of two, is divorced from businessman Sir Richard Rowley
‘Andrew was a friend of my family when we were growing up,’ he said. ‘In that sense, my sister has known him throughout her life.’
Last month, The Mail on Sunday reported that the Turnip Toffs were cautiously beginning to welcome Andrew back into their social world, with one member suggesting that his exclusion had ‘gone too far’.
The Bellinghams do not share the Windsors’ royal lineage, but the family is said to have a notorious ancestor: John Bellingham, the merchant who shot and killed Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in the House of Commons lobby in 1812. Perceval remains the only British prime minister to have been assassinated.
Andrew lost his titles after this newspaper published emails indicating that he had misrepresented the extent of his relationship with millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and no charges have been brought against him.