Royal Editor Russell Myers says the latest development in the Prince Andrew scandal is a worrying one for the King and Prince William – and disgraced royal Andrew must do one thing
The affairs of the royal family being openly discussed in parliament is a worrying development for the King and Prince William.
The monarch, with the support of his son and heir, last week moved to essentially force Prince Andrew to relinquish his royal titles, as the scandal involving his close relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein threatened to envelop the institution once more.
Days of front page headlines, further disturbing revelations contained in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir and the unearthing of emails from the prince apparently attempting to smear his sex abuse accuser, have made more than uncomfortable reading for the royal family.
They have struck at the heart of the monarchy, revealing a pampered prince renowned for having a temper and disdain for the people working for him, to be allegedly involved in asking his taxpayer funded police protection officer to dig up dirt on the woman claiming he abused her.
While Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations, he has been exiled from royal duties, strippped of his military titles, dumped from his charity patronages and paid £12million to Giuffre to stop a civil trial taking place in the US in 2022.
Now Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed a parliamentary inquiry into his living arrangements, after it was revealed that he has been living rent free at his 30 room mansion Royal Lodge. When the worlds of politics and royals collide, you know we are living in testing times.
Public revulsion over the case has continued to grow, with Giuffre’s memoirs from beyond the grave painting a disturbing picture of her abuse at the hands of Epstein and his lover Ghislaine Maxwell.
In the book she claims she received pressure directly from Andrew’s lawyers, alleged teams of internet trolls were hired to harass her and said some US media organisations were even put off covering her story due to fears they would lose access to the Royal Family.
Four out of five Britons now want Andrew to be formally stripped of his dukedom.
A new YouGov poll has that 63% of nearly 6,700 adults questioned were “strongly” in favour of formal removal of the dukedom and 17% “somewhat” supported the idea, while 6% were opposed to it – 4% somewhat and 2% strongly – and 14% did not know.
So what more can be done? While Andrew believes he has a “cast iron” agreement on his 75 year lease on Royal Lodge, he is bound by the terms to pay for its upkeep.
It currently needs an estimated £2million spent on urgent renovations and yet his finances remain shrouded in mystery, creating further questions over just how he has maintained his extravagant lifestyle for so long.
If Andrew is summoned before MPs to explain the terms of the agreement then questions should be asked regarding the source of his finances, considering it was reported this week that he apparently received modest sums from the Queen and Queen Mother’s wills.
We are told that the King remains reluctant to take up parliamentary time needed to formally strip his brother of his dukedom. Well that ship has already sailed.
The people will demand results and if new laws are required to strip the prince of his remaining royal privileges then they should be actioned at once.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell has set out legislation which would grant Charles the power to remove titles. The proposed new law would give the King the power to remove titles on his own initiative, following a recommendation of a joint committee of Parliament.
This whole tawdry affair has detracted from the good work the royal family do day in day out for far too long. If it is to reach any sort of conclusion, Andrew should leave his grace and favour home and be exiled for good or the stench of his association will linger forever.