There were too many scandals.
After an email surfaced this week stating that prince andrew Maintained contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein For longer than he had previously admitted, the House of Windsor finally moved to insulate the monarchy from years of influence. cheap headline About Andrew’s dangerous friends and shady dealings.
Buckingham Palace released a statement on Friday saying Mr Andrew had agreed to give up the use of his last remaining royal title “so that the continuing allegations surrounding him do not interfere with Her Majesty’s work”.
Craig Prescott, an expert on the monarchy and constitutional law at London’s Royal Holloway University, said this week’s revelations proved Mr Andrew had committed the unpardonable crime of misleading the British public.
“I think saying things that have been proven to be untrue is like the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said.
Signs of a new direction
This movement looks like this Charles, He is 76 years old, undergoing treatment for undisclosed cancer, and working under his son and successor to ensure the long-term stability of the monarchy. Prince William.
Prince William recently gave an interview in which he outlined his vision for the monarchy and said it needs to change to ensure the system is a force for good.
“In some ways, Prince Andrew was the opposite of that,” Prescott said. “And there is no room for that in modern monarchies.”
Mr. Andrew, 65, is the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. He spent more than 20 years as an officer in the Royal Navy before leaving the navy to join the royal family in 2001.
Following Friday’s announcement, Andrew will no longer use his remaining royal titles, including Duke of York, although he technically retains them. Formal stripping of these titles is a lengthy process that requires a parliamentary vote.
It’s been a while
Andrew’s ouster completes a process that began in November 2019. abandoned all official duties and the role of philanthropy.
The trigger was a damning interview Andrew gave to the BBC in which he attempted to counter media reports about his friendship with Epstein and deny allegations that he had had a sexual relationship with him. Virginia Giuffre, a 17-year-old girl The prince was widely criticized for showing no sympathy for Epstein’s victims and for giving unbelievable accounts of his friendship with the disgraced financier.
The interview also sowed the seeds for this week’s uproar, when Mr Andrew told the BBC that he had lost contact with Mr Epstein in December 2010.
A British newspaper on Sunday revealed that Andrew wrote an email to Epstein on February 28, 2011. Andrew wrote the memo after new reports about the Epstein scandal, telling them they were “in this together” and “we have to get through it.”
Andrew recently faced another round of unpleasant coverage as newspapers published excerpts from Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, which will be published on Tuesday. Giuffre died by suicide in April at the age of 41.
Andrew reached a settlement out of court in 2022 With Jufur After she filed a civil suit against him in New York. Andrew denied wrongdoing, but acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
Front page story for the wrong reasons
The prince has been in the tabloid headlines since at least 2007, when he sold his home near Windsor Castle for 20 per cent of the asking price of £15 million. The buyer was reported to be Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of then-Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, raising concerns that the deal was an attempt to buy influence in Britain.
Last year, a court case revealed Andrew’s relationship with a businessman. Chinese spy suspect A person banned from the UK as a threat to national security. The authorities were concerned about: Humans may have misused their influence to Andrew, according to court documents.
The palace announced that Prince Andrew had decided to give up his royal title, but royal commentator Jenny Bond said the king and Prince William had put “tremendous pressure” on him.
“You could say he fell on the sword, but I think he was pushed onto the sword,” Bond told the BBC. “I don’t think this is a decision that Andrew, a rather arrogant man and a man who very much likes his position, would have willingly made without a lot of pressure.”
Insulating the monarchy at a sensitive time
The weight of Andrew’s scandal has demanded a royal response, but this week’s revelations come at a particularly sensitive time for the monarch as she prepares to do so. State visit to the Vatican There he is expected to pray next to Pope Leo XIV.
George Grosz, an expert on theology and monarchy at King’s College in London, said the visit was very important for Charles, who has made bridging faiths an important part of his “beliefs”.
“I think this was the quickest, really quickest way to further degrade him without going to Congress,” Gross said. “Even if Congress approves it, it will take time.”
Prince Charles may also have been motivated by a desire to protect the work of Queen Camilla, who has made fighting domestic violence one of her signature issues, and the Duchess of Edinburgh, who has sought to combat sexual violence in conflict zones such as the Congo.
Prescott said the king hopes the move will finally draw a line between Andrew and other royals.
“If there are any allegations or further things come to light, it will all be up to Prince Andrew,” he said. “They severed ties with Prince Andrew and the monarchy as an institution.”
