KATE & WILLS TO SAVE THE MONARCHY MEGHAN TELLS HARRY: ‘IT’S ME OR YOUR FAMILY!’
With the Prince Andrew scandal threatening to engulf the royal family, the Queen and Prince Charles make a historic decision
When the Queen infamously described 1992 as her “annus horribilis”, thanks in part to her second son Prince Andrew’s divorce from his wife Sarah Ferguson, she had no idea he would send her family into far more serious turmoil 27 years later.
Now, in absolute disgrace, thanks to his long-time association with dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew, 59, has announced he is “stepping down indefinitely” from his royal role, which he says comes after a conversation with Her Majesty – and an edict from her heir Prince Charles, from his tour in New Zealand, claim British newspapers.
STATE OF DISGRACE
Such a dramatic departure from royal duties has not been seen since Edward VIII’S abdication in 1936, but most would agree despite a history steeped in scandal, never has the monarchy been in more of a state of disgrace. Thankfully for Queen Elizabeth, 93, there is one saving grace – her grandson Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Now Woman’s Day understands the Queen is ready to step down from the throne, along with her son Prince Charles, 71, to make room for Wills and Kate, both 37, who she hopes will save her family’s s desperately flailing image.
“She was reading the newspapers and she was well aware of how things were panning out,” one royal insider told the Daily Mail late last week. “The Queen and Charles spoke and a decision was made: it was time for Andrew to bow out gracefully.
“Both the Queen and the Prince of Wales are focused on the ongoing and future health of the monarchy and anything that will impact on it is something they are going to act decisively to protect.”
“A double abdication is unprecedented unprecedented, but these thesee are desperate times given the whole of Britain is disgusted with h the royals at the moment,” our ur insider adds, insisting that William, m, too, agreed that Andrew needed ed to be put in his place.
“While Andrew was making aking a fool of himself on television, sion, Kate and William were off ff visiting sick children, glamming up for charity events and raising g their babies – and looking good d doing it,” says a source. “That’s what Brits want to see from their eir royals. A little bit of empathy and d respect goes a long way.”
With her pro-women beliefs and the newfound joys of motherhood on her mind, it’s no wonder the Duchess of Sussex is said to be “absolutely repulsed” by the actions of her new in-laws.
So it’s little wonder we’re hearing that Meghan, 38, has told her 35-year-old husband to cut ties with the Duke of York – or lose her and their baby son.
“Meghan refused to go to the Queen’s Christmas festivities because she knew Andrew would be there, even before this interview came out, proving all her suspicions are correct that he’s a terrible man,” a palace insider tells.
“Now, she’s told Harry that she will no longer attend any royal event that he’s at, and nor will their son Archie.
“It’s a tough predicament for Harry to be in, since Andrew will continue to be invited to private occasions by the Queen, and he really has no sway with her on this.
“Ultimately though, what Meghan wants Meghan gets where Harry is concerned, and he will absolutely turn his back on Andrew, the Queen, or even Prince Charles if he has to just to make sure she’s happy.”
The palace is staring down the barrel of a full-scale FBI investigation after Prince Andrew’s “train wreck” interview about his child sex abuse allegations raised more questions about his involvement than answers.
In a widely panned interview with the BBC last weekend, Andrew spoke in-depth about his close friendship with dead convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and denied accusations he’d slept with then-17-year-old Virginia Roberts, who was allegedly procured by Jeffrey to have sex with the prince on March 10, 2001.
As the 45-minute interview dragged on, the eighth-in-line to the throne drew howls of derision and disbelief online – especially when he insisted he wasn’t with Virginia on the night in question, explaining that he was instead at a Pizza Express in Woking, UK, with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
NO WITNESSES
When asked how he could recall it so exactly, Andrew said, “Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is a very unusual thing for me to do,” adding that he has no memory of ever e meeting Virginia, de despite being pictured wi with his arm around her wh when she was a teenager. At the time of press, Pr Prince Andrew hadn’t re released any security logs fr from royal protection offi officers who would have a accompanied him to th the restaurant to prove h his story, and no security fo footage or witnesses h had emerged. Sources say it’s not n just internet commentators who aren’t buying his story – the American Federal Bureau of Investigation is determined to question him as part of their ongoing investigation into Epstein for child sex trafficking.
During the interview, Andrew unconcernedly admitted that Epstein had been a guest at the Queen’s property Sandringham, and was invited to Beatrice’s 18th birthday party, along with him staying at the convicted sex offender’s New York pad – even after he’d served jail time for his horrific crimes.
‘He’s not entitled to diplomatic immunity’
“That’s more than enough for the FBI to be extremely interested in speaking with Andrew and members of the royal family – and if they don’t cooperate, they certainly wouldn’t rule out raiding them. It’s believed Andrew is absolutely not entitled to any kind of diplomatic immunity,” says a source.