The Princess of Wales is said to have made her feelings very plain when it came to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his position within the Royal Family. Often viewed as a peacemaker, Kate apparently “urged” Prince William to “lobby” King Charles to banish his uncle even further – and refused to include him in her royal events.
In his new biography, Kate! The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen, royal author Christopher Andersen alleges that in the past few years the Princess “made it clear where she stood by banning Prince Andrew from all her functions”. This included her Together at Christmas carol service – “not even, as an aide inquired, if he snuck in a side door and watched ‘discreetly’.”
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A volunteer staffer reportedly told the author she “has no interest in having Andrew’s face appear on camera”. Andersen claims that “Kate’s animosity toward her husband’s uncle extended to their private encounters” too.
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“She refused to speak to Andrew, even during family holiday get-togethers,” he adds.
Andrew vehemently denies all allegations of wrongdoing against him, but “notwithstanding” this, he was stripped of his Princely title last year amid intense scrutiny over his former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. According to Andersen, the Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla were totally “unified” in their horror and teamed up to talk to King Charles.
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The author alleges, “Camilla had campaigned for more than a decade against domestic violence and the sexual abuse of women, and Kate told friends she was physically ‘sickened’ by the damage Andrew’s actions were doing to the institution her children would one day inherit.”
Working “in tandem”, the Queen, Princess and Prince William “actively lobbied to have King Charles banish Andrew from the Firm once and for all”. Now he’s Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and has moved to the Sandringham estate after a notice to surrender the lease was served on his Windsor home.
In January when millions more documents related to Epstein were released, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared a rare public statement commenting on the scandal. It declared they had been “deeply concerned by the continuing revelations” and affirmed “their thoughts remain focused on the victims”.
Just days later, Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. Andersen writes that “no one was prepared” for this, suggesting that it was a surprise to the royals as much as the public when the news broke.
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King Charles shared a statement at the time but William and Kate didn’t separately address the arrest. They might not frequently speak out on Andrew in public, but Andersen’s biography suggests they aren’t afraid to make their views known.
The couple are devoted to their family and are focused on forging their own path as royals, standing up for what they believe in and making positive changes that their children (particularly future King, Prince George) can look back on with pride.
“I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do,” the Prince of Wales explained on The Reluctant Traveller last year. “A world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better.”
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Catherine, Princess of Wales