Workmen are erecting fence panels around Marsh Farm on the King’s estate.

Six-foot wooden fences have been built around run-down Marsh Farm on the King’s Norfolk estate to make it secure and private for his shamed brother.

Workers have also begun renovating inside the ramshackle farm buildings, which have been empty for several years.

A digger was seen parked on the front lawn yesterday and electricians were hard at work getting the farm buildings habitable for the former duke.

Extra security, including CCTV, was being installed and several new doors were lined up ready to be screwed into place.

Andrew handed back his tenancy agreement for Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate in October when he was stripped of his prince and duke titles.

It came amid the worsening sex allegations relating to his friendship with the late US paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.

Initially, he will stay in an even smaller property at Sandringham until Easter when the work on Marsh Farm is due to be completed, Palace insiders say.

The Sun understands that Andy will move into this temporary home as early as the end of this month — and before his 66th birthday on February 19.

A source said: “The snow or rain hasn’t delayed the work on Marsh Farm but it still needs a lot of attention to make it habitable.

“But one thing for sure is that it is a lot, lot smaller and less luxurious than Royal Lodge.”

The Sun first revealed last month that Marsh Farm, two miles west of Sandringham House, was being earmarked for Andrew.

A drone ban was extended last autumn to cover his future home.

When The Sun visited yesterday, at least six workmen were seen toiling outside in the rain and inside the detached property.

Those hard at work included specialists fitting security systems such as the CCTV.

Two of the workers spent the day dedicated to putting up the wooden 6ft fence at the front perimeter of the home with the help of a JCB.

A van belonging to a specialist security company was parked at the former farmhouse as the extra protection systems were installed.

“He’s finally decided he needs to get on with his life and so is moving out sooner than thought and starting afresh by the end of the month, or at least before his birthday in February”

Insiders revealed the farmhouse and the surrounding outhouses and stables had all previously belonged to a tenant farmer who had died some time ago.

They added that it was being prepared for a new tenant and that the work was expected to be completed by April.

The property has been empty for several years and, despite some redecoration, it also needs improved electrics and sewerage systems, it is understood.

Meanwhile, Andrew has still been living at Royal Lodge with his former wife, Sarah.

But a friend said: “He’s finally decided he needs to get on with his life and so is moving out sooner than thought and starting afresh by the end of the month, or at least before his birthday in February.

“He and Sarah will go their own separate ways for the first time in almost 20 years.

“Apart from involvement with the children and grandchildren, they will live separate lives.”

Despite his public fall from grace, Andrew has regularly been seen riding horses around the Windsor Estate while he remained at Royal Lodge.

It has taken years to persuade the former Naval officer to move out.

In 2003, he paid £1million up front for a 75-year lease for the former home of the late Queen Mother.

He also paid at least £7.5million for extensive refurbishments as part of the deal.

Ex-wife Sarah has spoken in detail about their domestic situation, calling herself a “lodger”.

“He and Sarah will go their own separate ways for the first time in almost 20 years. Apart from involvement with the children and grandchildren, they will live separate lives”

They had divorced in 1996 and lived in separate halves of the white-walled mansion, it is understood.

Calls for Andy to be evicted emerged after Epstein sex-trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre accused him of having sex with her in the Caribbean, New York and London when she was 17, which he denies.

During discussions last year, Andy had suggested he would move to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate if Sarah could have William and Kate’s Adelaide Cottage, also on the estate, when they moved out.

Pressure cranked up on the ex-duke when The Sun on Sunday revealed he had continued to email convicted sex offender Epstein despite having told Newsnight in his 2019 interview that he had cut off all contact.

It then emerged that he had never paid the Crown Estate any rent on Royal Lodge.

Buckingham Palace announced in October that Andy had returned his lease and would move to the Sandringham estate, where King Charles would fund his new life.

At the time, the Palace said it understood that ex-wife Fergie had found a new home.

It is understood that she is continuing to search for a new property and insiders say proposals such as moving into a “granny annexe” next to Princess Beatrice in the Cotswolds or living in Portugal with Princess Eugenie are not on the table.

But sources close to the former Duchess of York have not confirmed her plans.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.