A royal expert claimed William wants the disgraced Duke of York to ‘vanish’ from the public eye.
Prince William reportedly has a very ‘strained’ relationship with Prince Andrew(Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
A royal expert has claimed that Prince William has a very “strained” relationship with his uncle Prince Andrew, and even holds a real “grudge” against the disgraced Duke of York. They also suggested that when Prince William eventually wears the crown, he is likely to “banish” Andrew from even family events.
Andrew stepped back from official royal duties and was stripped of his ‘HRH’ styling back in 2019, after a car crash interview with Newsnight regarding his long-term friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, reported The Mirror.
Andrew hit headlines again more recently, due to his connection with an alleged Chinese spy, which saw him “banned” from attending the House of Windsor’s Christmas celebrations.
But King Charles has still allowed his younger brother to attend a number of family affairs, including the Royal Family’s recent Easter festivities, which sources have said is a point of contention between Charles and William.
The royal expert, Hilary Fordwich, said to Fox News that during William’s reign, Andrew should not expect to be invited to royal events.
“Prince William has long had a strained and distant relationship with Andrew,” the expert said, adding that he holds “a grudge against his disgraced uncle.
The disgraced Duke of York will most likely go uninvited to royal family affairs when William becomes King.(Image: Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“Andrew’s future within the Royal Family is beyond bleak, since Prince William is firmly opposed to any public rehabilitation with no foreseeable path back. He wants Andrew to vanish from public view”.
The Mirror’s Royal Editor, Russell Myers, recently echoed these sentiments on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, remarking: “Is it a convenient truth that Andrew was going? William has no time for him.
“And indeed, William was overruled by the King when he said, I mean, William was absolutely influential in banishing him at that time, when he was forced to step back from duties. But when the King decided, after the Queen’s death, that he was going to be brought back into the family fold, William said absolutely not, and the King overruled him.
“We have this sort of interesting power struggle going on, and I imagine you know that hopefully in a long time in the future, when William is King, he [Andrew] will be nowhere to be seen around the family.”
Whilst Andrew attended the Easter celebrations, William and Kate spent the holiday elsewhere with their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
A royal source told The Mirror, “William has no time for his uncle. This Easter was about spending time with his own family, but he would far prefer a situation where he doesn’t have to spend time with him.”
King Charles may be willing to include his brother in some family events, but he is reported to be at loggerheads with Andrew over the Duke of York’s refusal to vacate his 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge, after being offered a smaller home on the royal Windsor estate.
The two brothers have reached something of a stalemate, with Andrew insisting he has a 75-year “cast iron lease” with the Crown Estate—not the King himself —that he signed in 2002.
He’s said to have told friends he “is going nowhere” and even begun managing the undertaking of much-needed renovations of the property himself in an attempt to save money, with a source explaining: “The Duke has been walking around the estate a lot recently, speaking to staff and asking for tips on managing the grounds.
“The whole place has fallen into disrepair and needs a lot of attention. He’s been asking about different kinds of trees and shrubs and whether it would be possible to move or relocate certain trees. He’s certainly got a spring in his step and is a lot cheerier of late, which is surprising given everything he has going on.”
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