‘HE’S FINISHED!' Andrew’s downfall
TO SAVE THE THRONE, THE QUEEN AND HER HEIRS MAKE AN ASTOUNDING DEMAND
When Prince Charles touched down in Auckland for his New Zealand tour, he was expecting an afternoon off. Instead, his aides showed him a recording of a TV show.
He’s said to have watched it with “incredulity and alarm”, growing icily angry. At the end, he uttered just one word: “Misguided.”
Charles put in a call to his mother, the Queen, and received a call from his son and heir, Prince William – three generations of current and future monarchs, startled and shaken by the interview Prince Andrew had given to the BBC’s Emily Maitlis about his involvement with the late paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
A palace insider says the Queen didn’t give her approval of the questions or Andrew’s replies.
“There is no way the Queen and her private secretary wrote a ‘yes’ on a memo that fully explained what was proposed.”
Instead, Andrew (59) had told her he was going to knock the gossip on the head and explain he’d met none of Epstein’s young harem, including Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre), who claims that Andrew had sex with her three times when she was 17, each time at the request of Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“What should have happened was the full palace process, where the interview proposal was placed under all the scrutiny and due diligence that usually takes place,” says the insider.
An aide adds, “Prince Charles was fuming but calm. He knew that the interview would wipe his tour off the front pages and undermine all the work that had gone into it. He hadn’t wanted anything to overshadow the big things, such as meetings with [Prime Minister] Jacinda Ardern, or the smaller things, like visiting Paihia Volunteer
Fire Brigade station.”
At that point, the three highest-ranked royals – the Queen (93), Charles (71) and William (37) – agreed to sit tight and review responses to the interview. Andrew himself had called his mother after the broadcast to say, “Mission accomplished!”, reassuring her that he had acquitted himself well.
The Duke of Edinburgh wasn’t consulted by the trio, as he is retired, 98, and not in the best of health. An aide says, “A few weeks ago, Philip had a bit of a wobble and hasn’t felt so energetic. He has been living quietly at Sandringham, where he spends most of his time reading and pottering about.”
It didn’t take long to gauge the reaction of the public – ridicule for a man describing himself as “too honourable” – or of the media, which was to check every claim made by
‘It is very sad but the health of the monarchy is too important to risk’
Andrew. They cast doubt on his insistence that he could not have seen Virginia on the date she claims because he took his daughter Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking late that afternoon; on a hitherto unrecorded medical condition that he claimed prevented him from sweating (in response to Virginia’s testimony that he’d sweated profusely when they’d danced at a London nightclub); and on his suggestion that a photo showing him with his arm around Virginia was not credible because he didn’t engage in public displays of affection.
Meanwhile, charities he was involved in started to distance themselves, while companies supporting his Pitch@Palace initiative for start-up tech businesses began to withdraw.
The fallout was so widespread that the scandal became an issue in the upcoming UK election.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were asked during a TV debate if the monarchy was “fit for purpose”.
Boris said, “The institution of the monarchy is beyond reproach.” The audience was silent. When Jeremy replied that it “needs a bit of improvement”, many in the audience laughed and cheered. They knew exactly what he meant.
A line had been crossed. Royalty and politics must never mix, so Charles made more calls. First, he consulted his private secretary, Clive Alderton, who is described by one colleague as “experienced, smart and very strategic”. Clive agreed that
Andrew had to go, and the Queen’s aides concurred.
A Clarence House source says, “Prince Charles and his private secretary were determined that this should not be allowed to drag on and on. The question of the election was critical.”
A senior palace source adds, “This is not about personalities but about safeguarding the future of the institution of the monarchy itself. There could be only one conclusion: The Duke of York had to withdraw from the fray and from public life. It is very sad. Obviously, both the Queen and the prince love Andrew... but the health of the monarchy is too important to risk.”
The Duke of Cambridge was also involved in the debate, though it was ultimately the Queen’s decision.
“William thinks the right thing happened,” says a source. “He is becoming more and more involved in decisions about the institution, and he’s not a huge fan of his
Uncle Andrew.”
The move also fitted with Charles’ long-term aim of focusing attention on those who are to reign: himself, William and Prince George (6).
“Prince William is sharing more and more responsibilities with his father,” says a family friend. “He knows that his time to learn the job will be a lot shorter than Prince Charles’, so he has to be involved in decision-making.”
The Queen summoned Andrew and broke the news. To allow him to save face, he was allowed to resign. He issued a statement saying, “I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future and she has given her permission.”
The Queen also let it be known that though she was “deeply frustrated” that the scandal was colouring the work of the rest of the family, she remained “privately supportive” of Andrew. Mother and son were duly photographed riding in Windsor Great Park, sending the message that he might be out of public life, but he wasn’t personally abandoned.
As the scandal broke, Andrew’s website listed more
‘ There could be only one conclusion: The Duke of York had to withdraw from public life’
than 180 charities and similar bodies that he’s patron of or otherwise connected to. Many have since severed links and the rest are expected to follow suit by the New Year, despite palace sources saying the arrangements are merely “temporarily mothballed”.
Pitch@Palace has been thrown out of its Buckingham Palace office and rebranded as simply Pitch. Incredibly, Andrew had wanted to lead a delegation to the Middle East a week after his interview. He was firmly told “no”.
Matters continue to worsen. A new opinion poll shows just eight percent of British people believe he told the truth. He will no longer be seen at state occasions, the Queen has cancelled his 60th birthday party and his 31-year-old daughter Beatrice’s wedding to property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi (36) next year will be much smaller than planned.
Royal author Penny Junor is blunt: “He’s absolutely finished. If Andrew is no longer representing or supporting the monarch in any capacity, or doing good charitably, what’s the point of him?”
Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, points out that Andrew’s exit is also a mark of Charles’ power. “Andrew’s departure reminds us of the inevitable shift in power from monarch to
‘shadow king’,” he says.
“It’s Prince Charles and his people who are increasingly pulling the strings. The sacking – for that is what it was – is also a reminder that the
British monarchy is a dynasty determined to survive and it doesn’t welcome debates during a general election campaign about its merits in the 21st century.”
Now back from New Zealand, Charles will summon Andrew to ask how it came to this. It will not be a comfortable meeting.
And the saga is not over yet. It seems certain that Andrew will be asked to submit to FBI questioning. As former palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter says, “He has got questions to answer and that is what he has to do. He should volunteer to talk, because until he does the air isn’t going to be cleared.”
A major question will be why he claims he needed to spend four days at Epstein’s New York mansion to break ties with his host after the billionaire’s conviction. One of Andrew’s former girlfriends, who prefers to remain anonymous, says she has the answer. She claims:
“Andrew wanted to see if he had anything dodgy [on Andrew]. He asked if there was anything he should be worried about and received a categorical assurance that the matter was closed and nothing exists in the way of recordings or pictures,” she says. “If it wasn’t for that, Andrew wouldn’t have hesitated to end the friendship over the phone. He does that sort of thing all the time.”
Whatever develops next in the biggest royal scandal of this century, Christmas at Sandringham will no doubt be awkward – and royal watchers are wondering if the theme of the Queen’s annual message will be “forgiveness”.