The royal warrant on the side of the van says it all. A truck from Linney Cooper — the flooring company trusted by King Charles to work on Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle — has reportedly been spotted pulling up at Marsh Farm, the Sandringham property that will soon become Prince Andrew's new home. It is, in its way, a perfect encapsulation of Andrew's current predicament.

The floors may carry the royal seal of approval, but the man moving into them is living a very different life from the one he enjoyed at Royal Lodge — the sprawling 30-room Windsor mansion he clung to for years before finally being pushed out.

Renovations at Marsh Farm have been ongoing for several months. Alongside Linney Cooper — whose previous work for Andrew included the carpeting at Royal Lodge, and whose earlier commissions included the full recarpeting of Windsor Castle after the catastrophic 1992 fire according to the company website — a second company, Next Level Flooring Solutions, has also been pictured arriving at the property states Hello!. Andrew is understood to be moving in next month.

Whatever finishes are being applied, nobody is pretending Marsh Farm is a comparable billet.

The property sits in the middle of a flood plain and has been described to Marie Claire by those familiar with it as "a lot, lot smaller and less luxurious" than anything Andrew has previously called home. The contrast with the grandeur of Royal Lodge could hardly be more stark.

In the meantime, Andrew is holed up at Wood Farm — the quiet Sandringham retreat where the late Prince Philip chose to spend his final years. He has barely been seen in public since his arrest on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and by all accounts his world has shrunk considerably.

Royal author Andrew Lownie, whose book Entitled examined the former Duke of York's life and downfall, told TalkTV that Andrew's movements have been severely curtailed. "Stuck on Wood Farm up in Sandringham," Lownie said, adding: "I hear he's not even allowed to go out the front door to go riding."

As for how Andrew fills his days, Lownie suggested the answer was depressingly familiar. "Well, what he did before really, which is to basically mooch around all morning in his dressing gown and watch films," he said.

It is a long way from the life Andrew once led. New floors, a smaller house, a shrinking world — and a February arrest that cast a shadow over whatever future he might have imagined for himself on the Sandringham estate.