Will Andrew and Harry bring down curtain on the REAL Crown?

CoulD this be the beginning of the end for the Royal Family? It certainly feels like something ugly is afoot, and that it comes equipped with a steel toecap rather than a Regency buckle.

up on the blasted heath of their diminishing realm, the Windsors are at a crossroads. Whatever direction they take, the way ahead is uncertain and fraught with danger. For we have reached a point where the credibility and identity of the monarchy is being called into question.

leading the attack are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who continue to lob their cannonballs of peeve through the castle ramparts.

Some say they are only finding freedom and their own truth, others that they are behaving like petulant B-listers scrambling for a foothold on the Hollywood ladder, selling their secrets to the highest bidder.

on balance, you might not be surprised to learn, I tend towards the latter theory.

Watching foolish Harry plugging his Netflix masters while riding around los Angeles on top of a double-decker bus with comedian James Corden last week was more than just cringe-making, it was a moment in history.

WHEN archivists try to pinpoint the dropped stitch that led to the unravelling of the royal tapestry in years to come, I suspect they will come to see this as the day it all started to go badly wrong.

Certainly, it was the end of hope for those who believed that the Sussexes might uphold royal values. That they would resist the blandishments and siren call of Hollywood and, instead, behave in a manner that would reflect well upon themselves in particular, and the Royal Family in general.

Did we really think they were above selling themselves? lights! Action! Cue hollow laughter.

The terrible irony is that Prince Harry still believes himself to be a noble warrior on some sort of vague crusade to save the world. He doesn’t see that he is being juiced and pulped by commercial forces far greater and more rapacious than anything he has ever encountered.

In the process of globally establishing themselves as heroic victims by trashing The Firm back home, the Sussexes have triggered a crisis that threatens to engulf all involved in a fireball of recrimination and allegation.

The unedifying spectacle of the most privileged people on the planet all accusing each other of bullying would be hilarious, were it not quite so tragic. And that this is all happening while the 99-year- old Duke of Edinburgh lies in his hospital bed only adds a layer of sadness to the unfolding drama.

For decades, Prince Philip has been the disciplinarian in the Royal Family, a man whose own record of selfless service was a benchmark to all those who later married into the House of Windsor. Being a royal spouse is a tricky negotiation into a difficult life — no wonder so few royal marriages survive. Soon his influence and wise presence will be gone for ever — and what then?

Shuffling about in the wings, like Quasimodo in the cathedral, lurks the shamed Duke of York. His disgrace is so total it seems unlikely he will ever grace a balcony or wear a military uniform in public again — let’s hope so, anyway.

And if Andrew thought he could rot quietly away, pottering around sweatless in his Windsor bolthole, think again. The Duke has always denied any wrongdoing and no criminal charges have ever been brought against him, but the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in July will only drag him and his rackety past back into the public eye. And that is not good for royal business.

There are struggling families on sink estates who enjoy only a fraction of the comforts and wealth that comes with being high-born, but who manage their affairs far better than the warring Windsors.

However, the royals might argue that at least they do not have to contend with the ongoing torment of The Crown. Peter Morgan’s Netflix series is watched globally by millions and is relentless in its depiction of the Royal Family as hard- hearted chisellers without a drop of kindness or a redeeming feature among them.

And Harry and Meghan’s carefully curated victim narrative seeds nicely into this harvest of hate.

SoTHIS is where we find ourselves. The Windsors are being attacked from without and within, while each generation of royals only seem to dilute the magic that once entranced so many for so long.

God save the darling Queen, who hasn’t put a foot wrong since her coronation — it makes it particularly awful that the last years of her impeccable reign are shadowed by the antics of fools.

The Duke and Duchess of York have caused untold damage over the years, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the new crack in the royal vase — letting the light in and casting an unflattering glow on everyone, including themselves.

Can’t they see that each new utterance or publicity stunt or TV interview — just ask Princess Diana or Prince Andrew — only makes matters worse in the long run? And that most people love and respect the Queen and don’t like to see her being belittled in such a manner?

In the meantime, the Sussexes seem hell-bent on destroying any lingering traces of royal mystique. The Queen gave Archie a wafflemaker for Christmas. Harry’s nickname is Haz and he can rap about the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Keep going, kids, don’t stop now. At this rate, Buckingham Palace will be a Marriott hotel or a tourist attraction within a decade or so. Mark my words.