Andrew Mountbatten Windsor still finds himself mired in controversy, and it’s unlikely to go away anytime soon, with new reports claiming the palace want him to make some moves to distance himself further from the monarchy
Andrew with his older brother King Charles(Image: Getty)
For months, King Charles has been playing hard ball with his brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. From throwing his support behind “survivors of any and all forms of abuse” in a blistering statement that announced he would be formally stripping his errant younger brother of his titles, to promising to support the police in their investigations: one thing is certainly clear, Andrew is out, and he wont be getting back in the royal fold anytime soon.
After being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and spending much of his birthday in police custody, Andrew was released pending further investigation, only to be greeted shortly afterwards with some further grim news that is likely to have rocked him to his core. Government sources have said that they will be consulting on removing him from the line of succession – he is currently eighth in line to the throne – and for someone who is alleged to have declared, “I’m the Queen’s second son, you can’t do this to me,” when he was being evicted from his former home of Royal Lodge, that’s going to have been a pretty significant blow.
His royal identity will have been part of Andrew’s understanding of himself from the time he was a young boy – but the house of cards has come crumbling down around him. Now it has been alleged that the palace “sent” an aide to Andrew’s Norfolk home recently to try and get the former Duke to take one for the team and fall on his own sword, perhaps to save them the work. But experts tell the Mirror that even if the palace wants Andrew to do the “dirty work” of distancing himself from the monarchy further, it might not even be possible.
Author Tom Bower, as reported in The Sun, has alleged, “As I understand it someone went up to Sandringham last Saturday from the palace to suggest to Andrew that he voluntarily gives up the succession. And he can do that. He can sign a form saying he renounces the succession.
The Andrew crisis has left entire Royal Family reeling(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“That ends it straight away and that would be the cleanest solution. As the emissary said ‘They’ve given me the dirty work to do’. But it’s a good thing they’ve started it and that’s the way to handle it. He’d been made an offer he can’t refuse.”
However constitutional expert Professor Robert Hazell – who runs the Constitutional Unit at University College London – tells the Mirror it just is not that simple, and there is no quick and easy way for Andrew to be removed from the line of succession without the government getting involved. This means that despite Bower’s claims, even if the palace did send someone to speak with Andrew – Buckingham Palace did not reply to the Mirror’s request for confirmation about whether this was accurate or not – there’s no quick way of ripping the band-aid off here, and instead, removing Andrew from the line of succession will likely be a drawn out and lengthy process, if it happens at all.
“No, Andrew cannot voluntarily relinquish his position in the line of succession,” the constitutional expert tells the Mirror. “It requires legislation to remove him from the line of succession. That legislation would have to be agreed to by the 14 other countries around the world where King Charles is also their head of state
“The government has said it must await the conclusion of the police inquiries before deciding whether to introduce such legislation,” he continues. The expert doubts that in reality, Andrew being cut from the line of succession will ever really happen when it comes down to it, even if the public might be keen for him to give up his royal position.
“My expectation is that when the time comes, [the government] will decide it has other more important legislative priorities, on things which affect people’s daily lives,” the expert tells the Mirror. Royal commentator, Afua Acheampong-Hagan that she believes whether he will end up being removed “hinges” on the outcome of the police investigations that are currently ongoing.
“I think it will all depend on what happens with the investigations,” the expert explains, “So I think it depends on if he is charged at all with misconduct in public office, or if anything else comes up to do with sex trafficking or anything.”
She continues that “if charges are brought” it is likely that “the government will face more pressure to remove him from the line of succession.” If the police take no further action, the royal expert believes that there is the possibility that the government “might leave it, [but] I think if charges are brought then that’s a different story.”
King Charles has said he will cooperate with the police’s investigation(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It wouldn’t the first time, however, that the palace seem to have deferred to Andrew to try and handle his controversies himself, rather than taking the plunge to handle it themselves. Shortly before the King’s shock statement in the Autumn that Andrew’s titles were removed, a statement from the man himself was released, saying he would never use them again. This first statement did little to quell the public mood, and the King and Queen followed with their own.
In 2019, Andrew was allowed by the late Queen and palace to go on BBC Newsnight to defend himself against allegations of wrongdoing, and only when this was deemed a total “car crash” and left his reputation in tatters, did he step back from public life – once again, with a statement released by the palace on his behalf, not the monarch’s.
Afua tells the Mirror that this pattern is likely a larger sign that the palace is pretty desperate for Andrew to “take responsibility”. “I think they’re trying to get Andrew to take some sort of accountability and that’s going to be increasingly difficult because he doesn’t really want to be accountable,” explains the expert. “I mean, he [doesn’t have] the self-awareness.”
“Trying to get him to be accountable for his actions is a losing battle. And yes, it is about them trying to shift some of the blame onto him, you know, because a lot of people are thinking and saying, ‘What did you know and when did you know it’ in terms of the Royal Family, you know, ‘Are you protecting him?’ And so this is all about trying to get Andrew to take some responsibility, but it’s extremely difficult if he just doesn’t realise he’s done anything wrong.”
But the fact that there isn’t a quick way of removing him from the line of succession doesn’t mean that Andrew is out of the woods just yet, with new reports claiming that Thames Valley Police are expanding their investigations into the King’s brother. Last month, his homes were searched by the police with officers seen carrying out boxes of documents.
To the British public, there are few in the House of Windsor who find themselves in worse standing. According to the latest YouGov polls, Andrew boasts only a meagre four percent approval rating with the public. The King is reported to have told Andrew to stay indoors and out of sight of any prying eyes, and Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson who he remained incredibly close with after their divorce 30 years ago, is also thought to know she has to stay far away from him from now on.
Fergie is reported to have been hiding out in Ireland, laying low in a hotel in Donegal whilst the storm of public outcry about her and Andrew’s ties to convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein continues on. The Daily Mail reported that she told a pal, “When I come back I am going to have to put some distance between myself and Andrew.”
However, Andrew does reportedly have one ally inside the Royal Family, his big sister Princess Anne, who is alleged to have offered him a place to call home on her estate of Gatcombe Park, “not just as an act of Christian charity but a willingness to surround him with family love”.
Princess Anne is reported to have offered Andrew a home at her estate(Image: Getty Images)
But Andrew and Fergie are still now a far cry from the self-proclaimed “happiest divorced couple in the world” they once were, and the ripples of the scandal have also impacted Beatrice and Eugenie, with reports claiming that they have been banned from attending royal events for the time being. Sources alleging that whilst the York sisters are struggling behind closed doors, they don’t think it’s fair that they are expected to disappear from public view, when they have not done anything wrong.
“They were always happy to carry out engagements when asked by their grandmother [Queen Elizabeth] or by other members of the family. They don’t see why they should slope away like criminals when they’ve done nothing wrong,” a friend of the sisters told the Mail. Another insider claimed to the outlet that “Both girls are very highly strung and emotional, like their mother. Beatrice is trying to come to terms with it matter-of-factly although can’t help bursting into tears regularly – not for her father but for the implosion of her own world and, especially, the family’s cold shoulder. Her royal status means more to her than Eugenie.”
However, Eugenie, who recently stepped down from Anti Slavery International, a charity she was patron of for many years, is alleged to be handling things pretty differently: with sources claiming she “has apparently gone into denial – fingers in the ears, head in the sand, hoping it will all go away.”
Another inside source claimed to the outlet that King Charles is feeling torn over the status of his nieces, with whom it is understood he is very close, and holds them dear. However, with their names cropping up in the Epstein files – though there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing – and more scrutiny over their parents connection to the disgraced financier than ever before, the King feels he has no choice but to protect the Firm’s image from the scandal, and keep the sisters at bay when it comes to public occasions. “Beatrice and Eugenie are particularly vulnerable at the moment. As they are dragged further into the Epstein web, the King is shifting his stance on the girls’ future,” a source told the Mail. “Although they aren’t implicated in any of Epstein’s wrongdoings, their own association with him threatens to tarnish the reputation of the throne.”
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