'Decision' Prince William may face over uncle Andrew's royal status when he becomes king
A new book has made allegations about the duke
Prince William could face having to remove his uncle Prince Andrew‘s remaining royal status when he becomes king, a commentator has predicted.
The Duke of York, 65, was stripped of his honorary military titles and royal patronages amid a US civil lawsuit over sexual assault allegations, which he has always denied, in 2022.
He also lost being able to use his HRH title in a public capacity, even though he remains a prince and a duke. And over the last four years, following his stepping away from royal duties, Prince Andrew hasn’t taken part in the public procession as part of the Order of the Garter ceremony.
In recent years, there have also been numerous headlines concerning his residence at Royal Lodge. Insiders have claimed that King Charles wishes to ‘evict’ him. But that has yet to happen.
However, following recent allegations from Andrew Lownie’s new royal biography, concerning both Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has pondered whether it may fall to the heir to the throne to take decisive action.
Review of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York
Reviewing Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York exclusively for Royal Insider, Mr Fitzwilliams reflected: “This is a substantial volume of over 400 pages which many will find forbidding as there are so many lists. From Prince Andrew’s female conquests to Sarah Ferguson’s debts, you do feel weighed down by detail.
“It took four years to research and write, and 300 contributors. Although it is impossible to verify that what they say is true.”
Lownie has been accused of including ‘salacious gossip’.
Assessing the claims contained within the book’s pages, Mr Fitzwilliams went on: “It may well be that on balance Andrew’s work as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment brought some financial benefit. According to this account, it very definitely brought benefit to both of the Yorks.”
‘A public relations catastrophe’
Mr Fitzwilliams goes on: “Andrew was extremely spoilt as a child. And we know that Queen Elizabeth II, perhaps aware of how dysfunctional he was, was especially fond of him. The numerous examples of his sense of humour given here are grotesquely childish and often cruel. Lownie sees both him and Sarah Ferguson as greedy opportunists. It appears to be suggested it is the similarity that binds them so closely, despite their divorce.”
Mr Fitzwilliams also notes that Prince Andrew’s “bizarre” 2019 Newsnight interview performance “was a public relations catastrophe of Krakatoan proportions”.
He also suggests this display has been the primary reason for Prince Andrew’s popularity “slumping to 5 per cent in this week’s YouGov poll”.
“You can’t do much worse than that!” he adds.
Prince William may face ‘decision’ over Andrew
Mr Fitzwilliams concludes: “Both Andrew and Sarah are obviously fatally attracted to wealth. More about how they leveraged their status for decades may come out.”
He also illustrates how any issues presented by Prince Andrew’s presence in the royal family may be addressed.
Read more: ‘Peeved’ Prince Andrew’s ‘foul-mouthed rant’ at workers near Royal Lodge home
“Andrew still has his dukedom, and his HRH (although he cannot use it). And he is also still a Counsellor of State. Parliament can remove the first, the monarch can remove the rest. This may well be up to Prince William when his turn comes,” Mr Fitzwilliams explains.
The Duke of York remains listed as one of the Counsellors of State, who are authorised to carry out most of the official duties of the monarch. However, in practice, only working royals are called upon in this role.
Royal Insider contacted reps for Buckingham Palace and the Duchess of York on Lownie’s book.
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