Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's home faces 'extremely high wildfire risk'

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been warned he faces yet another setback at his Norfolk residence after being issued with a serious wildfire warning in the area surrounding his Marsh Farm home.

Wild Ken Hill nature reserve, standing less than five miles from the estate where the former prince resides, has declared the danger level "extremely high", citing dry ground conditions in the wake of what proved to be the hottest June ever recorded in Britain.

It serves as another blow for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, with the King reportedly having "no plans" to invite the former duke to the Royal Family's summer retreat in Balmoral.

His five-bedroom property, which he moved into following his exile from Royal Lodge in April, sits within King Charles's sprawling 20,000-acre Sandringham estate, where the surrounding countryside and parkland that once seemed an appealing feature of his new home now could present a genuine vulnerability during the increasingly hot summer months.

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The reserve issued its stark warning via Facebook on July 17, urging local residents to stay alert.

"With the ground tinder-dry and temperatures climbing again, the risk of wildfire at Wild Ken Hill and across the country is EXTREMELY HIGH right now," the post read.

It recalled the catastrophic blaze of July 19, 2022, when flames erupted in the Coastal Park near Snettisham Beach at approximately 11.30am on what became Britain's hottest day on record.

Driven northward by fierce south-easterly winds, the fire spread at alarming speed.

Norfolk Fire & Rescue, aided by the Wild Ken Hill team and local volunteers, eventually brought it under control – but not before roughly 33 hectares of precious coastal habitat had been destroyed and wildlife had been scorched in the blaze.

The reserve's post also revealed what investigators found in the aftermath of the 2022 disaster: "aluminium cans, glass bottles, evidence of wild camping, disposable BBQs and smoking in the Coastal Park. Any one of those can start a fire in these conditions."

"Please help us protect this place. It is both rich in nature and a green space for us all to enjoy," the post added.

Wild Ken Hill is now imploring visitors to carry all rubbish home with them, noting that discarded glass can focus sunlight and ignite dry vegetation.

Sandringham already prohibits visitors from setting up their own barbecues on the estate during summer, though the fresh guidance from Wild Ken Hill appears to have reinforced these precautions for local homeowners most exposed to the threat.

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The warning comes amid dangerously high temperatures and wildfires across parts of Europe this summer.

Some 360,000 people have been evacuated in France and Spain, which have been the worst affected by the devastating blazes.

Fires near Bordeaux in southwestern France have now burnt through an area four times the size of Paris, and the nation is experiencing its worst fires in two decades.

Gironde and Landes are now under a "yellow alert" for a heatwave, with temperatures expected to soar back above 40C.

In the Spanish capital of Madrid, one fire raging in the hills to the west of the city has become its largest ever, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on more work to be done to help with climate change.

They are not "a succession of isolated events" but "the most painful expression of a climate emergency", he said, adding that climate change has made the wildfires "more ferocious, heatwaves more frequent, and our territory more vulnerable".

Prince William sent his thoughts to those affected by the wildfires across Europe, issuing a stern warning over the "challenges posed" by climate change.

"We are deeply grateful to the firefighters, emergency services and volunteers working tirelessly in extraordinarily difficult conditions," he said.

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