After a new book has raised further allegations about scandal-prone Prince Andrew, Buckingham Palace officials are reportedly discussing a dramatic new ‘mechanism’ to remove him entirely from the royal family
Fresh allegations have surfaced about the Royal Family’s most controversial member, with a new book packed with claims about Prince Andrew’s life set to be published next week
Allegations are scattered though Andrew Lownie’s book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, including regarding his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and a claim that the Duke of York was involved in a physical fight with his nephew, Prince Harry, after he discovered “something Andrew said behind his back”.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry subsequently denied the allegation to PEOPLE, stating: “I can confirm neither of those things are true. Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make those comments about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry.”
These issues follow Andrew’s highly-publicised relationship with alleged “Chinese spy” Yang Tengbo and the long-running “siege of Royal Lodge” which saw an exasperated King Charles withdraw his younger brother’s million-pound-a-year personal allowance.
According to the Daily Telegraph’s Royal Correspondent Hannah Furness, questions are quietly being asked by Palace sources about how some additional distance could be put between The Royal Family and the increasingly-unpopular Duke of York.
She explains that there is a mechanism, by which Parliament “can remove not just a Dukedom but even the title of Prince.”
This dramatic step “would need legislation,” she writes, “followed by Royal Assent from the King, but it is nevertheless technically possible.”
The risk to Prince Andrew’s position would increase dramatically in the event of his older brother Charles dying, and Prince William taking the throne. Royal historian and biographer Christopher Wilson believes that William would be “ruthless” in cutting ties with his scandal-prone uncle.
“I think to a large extent Charles has adhered to [his mother, the late Queen’s] safe policy – the moment you start tearing the family apart, where does it stop?” he says.
“With William,” he added, “it will be a different approach – he has hard-nosed ideas about how the Royal family needs to appear in the frenzied social media world we now inhabit, and I think will be ruthless.”
To an extent, the process has already begun. In 2022, as he faced US civil action over sexual assault allegations, the Duke of York’s military titles and royal patronages were “returned to the Queen.” He also agreed to stop using his HRH title and ceased to undertake any public duties.
Like Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Prince Andrew retained his title HRH but agreed not use it in any official capacity.
But since then, the allegations have continued to pile up and “something,” according to a Palace source quoted by The Telegraph, “still needs to be done.”
Questions were asked about how much Prince Andrew had benefitted personally from his 10 years as an international trade envoy, and one former Buckingham Palace staff member claimed to Andrew Lownie: “There are dozens, if not hundreds, more unwise connections to uncover from Andrew’s years in the role.”
Observers also noted how frequently the prince, whose diplomatic style has been described as “ boorish and very self-centred,” would find that his business trips would take him close to well-known ski slopes and golf courses.
He earned the nickname “Air Miles Andy” for his frequent lavish, and all-expenses-paid travel.
Christopher Wilson claims that King Charles may take action to remove his younger brother from the family, if MPs were to raise awkward questions about the Duke’s time as a trade ambassador, raising the possibility that public funds had been misused. If such evidence were to emerge, he says: “Charles could act in the best interests of preserving the monarchy”.
Andrew’s curious relationship with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who continues to live with him almost 30 years after their divorce, has also raised eyebrows. She was notoriously recorded in 2010 offering to sell access to the Prince to a reporter posing as a foreign businessman.
The Daily Mirror approached Buckingham Palace regarding these claims, but representatives declined to comment.
