Did King Charles Kick Prince Andrew Out of the Royal Fold?
Over the Christmas weekend, King Charles III took on the role of leading the Christmas celebrations for the first time. It is the first time, in generations, that the Queen was not giving a Christmas announcement. Among the developments people were talking about was the alleged “ousting” of Prince Andrew from the royal circle.
The Daily Beast shared an article from The Sun that claimed a source told the paper Andrew was no longer going to be welcome at the Palace. “The King has made it clear. He isn’t a working royal. He’s on his own,” the report said. “Any presence at the Palace is officially over.” Ever since Prince Andrew’s relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein came to light, along with the accusations from Virginia Giuffre, he’s been slowly removed of multiple titles. Giuffre alleged that, at 17 years old, she was trafficked by Epstein to Andrew. Despite denying the allegations, the former favorite son dropped a large settlement out-of-court.
Due to the already existing rift between King Charles and Andrew, it was always expected that once the Queen died things would change and it appears they have. It is also being reported that Andrew will have security paid for by his elder brother, likely to keep him from doing something reckless.
“[Andrew’s] armed personal protection officers will be replaced by private security guards at an estimated cost of up to £3 million ($3.64 million) a year,” Reports She Knows, quoting a source. “The King is expected to foot the bill as the Duke has no discernible regular income.” Looks like they won’t be getting the Sussex treatment.
Since he is an unemployed and unemployable man, the Duke is being allowed to stay at his home on the Windsor estate. It is one of the few royal privileges remaining. It is still not even remotely justice, but it is more than he would have gotten under his mother’s reign. If the job of King Charles is to protect the institution, getting Andrew away as soon as possible is key.
(via The Daily Beast, image: Christopher Furlong – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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