There’s no doubt that the numerous scandals the former prince Andrew is embroiled in are not great for the British monarchy. The institution itself has lost favor with many people in recent years, and Andrew’s Epstein scandal and his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office haven’t helped. But new reports indicate there’s one particular royal who has taken up the anti-Andrew banner, and it’s not who most people expect.
RadarOnline is reporting that Queen Camilla has become the family’s “smiling hit-woman” as pressure to put even more distance between the royals and Andrew grows. Royal author Christopher Wilson wrote in A Greater Love – Charles and Camilla, that the queen and the late Queen Mother are very similar in that they can both appear warm and reassuring but hold a hidden “ruthless streak.”
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Camilla and William are reportedly aligned in their desire for even more consequences for Andrew and potentially, the rest of his family. “Camilla has spent enough years around the monarchy to understand that its entire existence depends on public confidence and stability,” a royal source said.
“People close to the institution say she views scandals as existential threats if they are allowed to drag on unresolved, which is why she favors firm action rather than endless internal hand-wringing. In her mind, preserving the Crown sometimes means making brutally uncomfortable decisions, even when those decisions involve family members.”
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Sources added, “Within palace circles, there’s an increasingly strong belief that Camilla has become one of the key figures pushing for Andrew to be permanently sidelined from royal life once and for all. Publicly, she projects warmth, patience, and diplomacy, but privately, she is said to be extremely clear-eyed and unsentimental when it comes to protecting the monarchy’s future.
It’s important to remember that the investigation into Andrew has moved from just suspicion of misconduct in public office to now include sex crimes, and that he has been prominently featured in the Epstein files. That’s the kind of scandal the royal family wants absolutely nothing to do with, particularly as a new generation represented by William and Kate looks to modernize the institution.
“People around the King believe she sees the survival of the institution as more important than personal loyalties or emotional attachments, and that attitude has made her a far more influential figure behind the scenes than many outsiders realize, and she will appear calm to someone’s face and then work to have them removed from the institution from behind the scenes – like a smiling hitwoman!” the sources added about Camilla.
According to Wilson, “If Charles has a weakness, it’s that he’s too kind and too forgiving when things go wrong.” But Camilla and William are reportedly not the type to forgive and forget. In fact, they are both reportedly pushing for more consequences not just for Andrew, but also for his entire family. Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, has also been mentioned in the Epstein files, and his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, haven’t really taken a firm public stance to distance themselves from their parents.
One palace aide added: “Camilla really is now leading the charge to have Andrew booted totally out of the royal family.”
Can things actually get worse for Andrew? We’ll have to wait and see.