King Charles and Prince William have been told they “should be restoring the monarchy to a unifying symbol” after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former Duke of York was arrested and released under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office on February 19, which led to fresh scrutiny and heckling for members of the monarchy.
Royal historian David Starkey weighed in on the matter, saying the situation surrounding Andrew “is very simple”.
He told The Telegraph: “A lot of people like humiliating others, and there’s a witch hunt underway. We’re being treated to the spectacle of a pillory.”
King Charles, Prince William | Source: GETTY
Mr Starkey continued: “Right now, the British are in a periodic fit of morality. I’m not remotely defending [Andrew]; he’s an individual of no merit.
“If the police find a provable case against Andrew, he should be tried, but that should be the end of the matter.
“I’m not interested in a ritual debagging for the sake of it.”
The royal historian shared what he feels the monarchy should do to get its approval back up and more public backing.
Royal Family | Source: PA
He said: “The future doesn’t lie in Charles flying across the world to wear funny clothes and rub noses or William banging on about ecology and mental health, these are increasingly political causes.
“We should be restoring the monarchy to a unifying national symbol in the place of a vague, meaningless mish-mash of words like tolerance and diversity.
“What we really need is a revived parliamentary monarchy as the apex of a revived parliamentary constitution.”
Mr Starkey explained that the process would begin at the next coronation, where William would “solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on and the laws and customs of the same”.
King Charles, Prince William | Source: GETTY
The royal historian feels “this would re-establish the sovereignty of parliament both internally” and would build a “strengthened oath of allegiance” between the monarchy and the nation.
Support for the monarchy has dropped since Andrew’s arrest, with only 28 per cent of Britons feeling the Royal Family have dealt with the situation well, according to Ipsos.
Generation Z are the most negative about the royals, with 39 per cent thinking it would be better for the UK if the monarchy were abolished.
Commenting on the findings, Keiran Pedley, Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said: “These findings suggest that the latest Andrew revelations have damaged the Royal Family in the court of public opinion.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor | Source: GETTY
“The public are less likely to think the Royals are handling the issue well and less likely to think it would be a bad thing if the institution was abolished.
“However, it is unclear how lasting any damage will be. Only one in four think it would be better of the monarchy was abolished and eight in 10 still think it will exist in ten years time.
“Although apparent scepticism towards the institution amongst Gen Z Britons is something to watch.”
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