Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Details Encounter With Stalker in Court — and the Details Are Unsettling

While Andrew has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons, his encounter with an alleged stalker has left everyone scared.

While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons, his encounter with an alleged stalker has left everyone scared. The former prince was reportedly stalked and chased near his home in Sandringham by a masked man. The former Duke of York's witness statement was read out at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday as legal proceedings continue against a man accused of threatening him earlier this year. 

The incident occurred on May 6 near Marsh Farm, where Mountbatten-Windsor has lived since leaving Royal Lodge in Windsor. According to the witness statement, the royal was out walking his dogs on the Sandringham estate when he noticed a parked vehicle just outside the estate boundary. At first, Mountbatten-Windsor thought it was photographers, but soon realized a masked man was following him.

In his official statement, the disgraced former prince told the court that he and his security team drove past the vehicle, at which point he spotted a man wearing a balaclava nearby. He explained that the man "turned and faced me—he was wearing a balaclava face covering." Further in his statement, Mountbatten-Windsor described the man as looking "out-of-place" before the situation quickly escalated. He detailed, "I then saw a loose dog running towards him. Then he realized who I was and began to sprint after my vehicle."

The witness statement forms a key part of the case against 39-year-old Alex Jenkinson, who is accused of using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behavior towards Mountbatten-Windsor during the confrontation in Wolferton, near the royal's home. Following the incident, Jenkinson was detained under the Mental Health Act for about a month. While he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of blood while in police custody on May 6, he denies the public order offense involving the former Duke. He has also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behavior with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence against another man, Stephen Terry, in King's Lynn on 5 May.

During Thursday's hearing, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram ruled that Mountbatten-Windsor, Mr Terry, and an eyewitness to the incident will all have to give evidence again to determine whether a civil Stalking Protection Order should be imposed or not. Explaining the decision, Judge Ikram said, "I am persuaded that fairness demands the respondent to these proceedings (Jenkinson) be allowed to call and cross-examine these witnesses."

The court will also evaluate the evidence recovered from Jenkinson's phone, including alleged searches relating to the royal, Sandringham, and "weapons," which is expected to feature during the criminal trial.