'Even to the end, he just didn't get it,' one royal insider sighed wearily yesterday.

Whether it be his 'block-headed' refusal to lie low for his last few weeks at Royal Lodge or his utter intransigence about even acknowledging the many victims of his good friend, Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's behaviour has been a masterclass in how not to play out a public scandal.

While Buckingham Palace has, probably wisely, chosen not to comment on recent developments (although, believe me, there are a few things the institution would very much like to say), it's fair to assume there is a quiet sense of relief that the former Duke of York has finally chosen to pack his bags and quit Royal Lodge, the 31-room mansion that has come to epitomise his hubris, if not also his corruption. The siege is finally over.

Courtiers, and indeed members of his own family, have watched aghast in recent days at the torrent of revelations emanating from the latest dump of Epstein Files out of the US.

This has been exacerbated by Andrew's pig-headed determination to keep to his daily routine (following a brief but ineffective ban from the royal stables at Windsor), preferring to stubbornly clip-clop past the ever-present photographers on his regular rides in the Berkshire countryside.

He has even been seen gurning and waving brazenly from his car to passers-by, in what was described to me as one of those moments 'you just want to whack your head on the desk'. 'Appalling optics,' another in royal circles remarked.

In the end there was no row, no great ultimatum (indeed, the King still has no personal power to actually force Andrew to leave Royal Lodge before his lease ends in October, although he had previously got his brother to agree to go by Easter at the latest, with hopes that it would, as it has turned out, be considerably sooner than that).

But the Palace does have other means at its disposal to make clear its displeasure at the optimum time. And Andrew was left in no doubt over the weekend that now was considered as good a moment as any to quietly head off to Norfolk and embark on his new life on the King's private Sandringham Estate.

Even the numbskull that remains our eighth in line to the throne (and, yes, he still retains this position as it would require parliamentary action both in the UK and the realms to change it) realised that his time was up, preferring to beat a retreat under cover of darkness to avoid the humiliation of being effectively frogmarched out of the gates in front of the world's media.

'He was encouraged to think that it would be a good time to move on,' another source adds, with Mafioso-like menace.

What has been crucial in recent months to the Palace's ability to act – this past weekend included – is that the emails have conclusively revealed Andrew to have lied when he claimed he had ceased all contact with Epstein in 2010 after the financier's release from prison on child sex charges.

Of course, it by no means follows that Andrew is now consigned to the annals of history.

In fact, while now officially a resident of Norfolk, we may well still see him pop back up at Windsor from time to time as his move, I am told, is not entirely complete and he may need to stay at Royal Lodge to tie up 'loose ends' over the next few weeks.

He is currently in temporary residence at Prince Philip's old home, Wood Farm, until his new, relatively modest abode, Marsh Farm, is ready. It is hoped this will be complete by early April.

Andrew remains a member of the Royal Family, despite being stripped of his titles, and the demands for him to account for his behaviour and the nature of his friendship with Epstein are only growing.

Requests for comment on the continuing slew of revelations to his private secretary, who retains a Buckingham Palace email for security purposes, go unanswered.

It is surely a position he cannot maintain. Even his 'friends' who have spoken out in his defence to more Andrew-friendly media than the Daily Mail over the years have gone quiet.

The King has ploughed quite a lonely furrow in recent years in trying to persuade his brother to see sense by handing back his titles, downsizing his living arrangements and showing some humility over this self-imposed mess.

Some family members believe he has gone too far and owes his brother a duty of care.

The latter point, though, is not lost on the monarch.

It's why although the King strongly believes Andrew deserves sanction for a lifetime of appalling judgment (indeed, he and the Queen were the first to publicly offer their sympathies to all victims of abuse, including Epstein's), Charles is now paying privately for his new living and security arrangements.

It is also lost on no one that it is sensible to keep the ex-prince within the fold rather than leave him financially reliant on his kind of friends.

As for his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who while not accused of complicity in criminality has emerged from the Epstein email dump with barely a shred of her reputation intact, there is also a deafening silence.

Earlier this week, sources told me that a move abroad was 'imminent' – on a temporary basis – in order for Ferguson to take stock of her life and future plans.

While no one is saying where she is going, a trip to Australia to visit her sister, Jane, where she has often gone to 'lick her wounds', may be a safe bet.

She does, however, apparently plan to return to the UK and intends to rent or buy a home in the Windsor area, where she retains friends.

Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.

Again, there has been no formal comment on the damning and humiliating messages she so regularly exchanged with Epstein, both before and after his release from prison on child sex charges.

Interestingly, though, there seems to be a slight loosening of the ties between herself and her former husband, despite her once describing them as the 'happiest divorced couple in the world'. So happy they memorably remained living together almost three decades after their split.

Friends now seem keener to emphasise the disconnect between any allegations the two are facing: in Andrew's case, sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre (although he has previously strongly denied the claims); in Ferguson's, mere gross stupidity and greed.

There is a sense of frustration that the two are being 'lumped' together by the media.

One can only wonder if they will ever present the same sort of tight familial unit again?

For the rest of wider Royal Family, the only option is business as usual.

I have been told that it has been 'upsetting' to see their daily good works overshadowed by the scandal, although they clearly all acknowledge the level of public interest and anger.

Sources have told me pointedly that 'providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his conscience'.

Remarkably, they have been learning the full gruesome details of Andrew's behaviour in recent months in 'real time' along with the rest of the British public.

With major public visits coming up for the King and Queen, not to mention Prince William's high-profile foreign trip to Saudi Arabia next week, it will continue to be an uncomfortable time, wherever Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lives.