In recent months, the Royal Family has made some major changes following renewed interest in Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As well as removing the former Prince Andrew’s royal titles, he was forced to move out of his home, Royal Lodge in Windsor. Now, sources are claiming that Prince William “never liked” his disgraced uncle and wanted him removed from the Royal Family years ago.
In an extract from royal editor Russell Myers’s forthcoming book, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story—serialized by the Mirror—sources provided insight into the Prince of Wales’s relationship with Andrew.
“In the aftermath [of Andrew’s disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019], William spoke to his father to implore him and The Queen to take immediate action, fearing not only the public backlash but for his own future,” Myers wrote.
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“William spoke to his father to implore him and The Queen to take immediate action.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Russell Myers
‘William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story’
Meanwhile, a royal source told the author, “Once you understand the fact that everything that happens in the here and now, affects everything in the future, William’s future, it is very easy to put yourself in his shoes.” The source continued, “He never much liked his uncle and wanted him out of the picture immediately before the rot further set in.”
Essentially, the Prince of Wales reportedly knew that Andrew’s association with Epstein would only cause bigger problems as time went on. “William’s view was that [Andrew] got himself into the whole mess, so he should be left to his own devices to sort it out away from the family,” a source noted.
“He never much liked his uncle and wanted him out of the picture.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
According to Myers, the Prince of Wales disliked Andrew before the Epstein files created another public scandal for the Royal Family. “William’s negative view of his uncle Andrew had predated the Duke of York’s fall from grace,” Myers wrote. “For years the Prince of Wales had questioned what benefit his uncle was to the wider operation.”
A royal source told the author, “[H]e’d always thought his uncle was a bit of an ignoramus…He would question, ‘What does he actually do?'”
Basically, it appears as though there’s no love lost between William and his uncle Andrew.
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Prince Andrew
Prince William