Prince William likely played a key role in ‘stiffening King Charles’s resolve’ to take action over the ongoing crisis surrounding his younger brother Andrew, an expert has claimed
King Charles didn’t hold back with his “ruthless” statement about his disgraced younger brother Andrew, and now an expert has revealed how Prince William helped his dad deliver the final humiliating blow.
Buckingham Palace made a shock announcement on Thursday confirming that the “formal process” to legally strip Andrew’s titles has been put in motion. He will now go by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and has been struck from the official roll of peerage.
The palace also revealed that Andrew will be leaving his long-term home of Royal Lodge, which has been a source of much controversy in recent weeks. Public outcry has been so great over the scandals surrounding Andrew that 80 percent of the public in a recent poll said they believed he should move out of the lavish 30-room property, which sits in close proximity to Windsor Castle.
Andrew held a “cast-iron” 75-year lease for the Grade II listed home, which he paid for in 2003. Legally, this meant that the King had no way of forcing his younger brother’s hand and making him move out against his will: Andrew had to agree to do so voluntarily.
Renewed scrutiny over the many controversies surrounding Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, with whom he lived in Royal Lodge despite their divorce in the mid-1990s, has continued to grow this month, with the recent publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir painting a bleak picture of her suffering at the hands of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
READ MORE: Prince Andrew’s security uncertain as he’s kicked out of Windsor Royal Lodge homeREAD MORE: Prince Andrew ‘could easily’ face more allegations as he’s stripped of titles, expert predicts
Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide earlier in the year, accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17, which he has repeatedly and categorically denied.
Just says before the publication of her memoir, Andrew annouced that he would give up the use of his titles voluntarily – but now the King has gone a step further, formally stripping his younger brother of his royal privileges, in what one expert has called a “ruthless” but “welcomed” move, that William was likely key in supporting.
Andrew Lownie wrote a blistering biography of Andrew and Sarah that was released over the summer – Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. The explosive book brought their private lives back under the microscope – including their friendships with Epstein, and their seemingly shady financial dealings.
Lownie told the Mirror that Prince William will have likely helped when it came to “stiffening” his father’s resolve that something more formal had to be done about Andrew, and that the disgraced former duke voluntarily giving up his titles was not enough, with Charles finally realising “how serious it is”.
“From what I know of him and his father, William would have played quite an active role in stiffening Charles’ resolve,” Lownie revealed. “But I think particularly after Charles was heckled and the continuing press coverage – which was a distraction from all the other things he wanted to do, like pray at the Vatican – he’s realised just how serious this is.”
With Andrew moving out of Royal Lodge, questions remain about the future of the mansion, which, because of its close proximity to Windsor Castle, might be difficult to find a private tenant for.
Lownie explains that “this now raises all sorts of questions about what happens to Royal Lodge in the future, but I think in terms of addressing two of the concerns, about Andrew, the titles and the property, [the statement has] done that.”
Lownie believes that one possible solution could be for William himself to move into the property once his uncle has vacated it.
Previous reports have claimed that the Prince and Princess of Wales considered Royal Lodge as an option when they moved their young family from London to Windsor, in order to offer their children more privacy than their home of Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace could afford them.
The couple is poised to move into their “forever home” of Forest Lodge, which is not far from Royal Lodge, over the next few weeks – but Lownie believes that it would “make a lot of sense” for the couple to take on Sarah and Andrew’s former home instead.
“It would certainly make a lot of sense,” explains Lownie about the prospect of William and Kate taking on Royal Lodge, adding it is a “strong possibility”.
“I think they are worried about the optics of living in such a grand house. But in terms of given its position [near to Windsor Castle], it would make a lot more sense than Forest Lodge, so, yes, I suspect that is a strong possibility.”
However, the Mirror understands that the plan remains for the Wales family to move to Forest Lodge, and going elsewhere is unlikely.
Kate is understood to have “fully supported” Charles’ decision to boot Andrew out, alongside her husband.
Andrew is understood to be moving to a home in Sandringham, Norfolk – a vast estate which the monarch owns privately, and Sarah Ferguson will be responsible for sorting out a new place to live by herself.
Lownie said, “I think it’s a very neat solution going to Sandringham, I understand that actually Andrew will have to be paid quite a lot of money to basically get out of the lease.
The expert added: “I think they’ve taken decisive action at last, I mean this should have been the statement we had two weeks ago. It’s a situation they should have dealt with years ago, but it’s welcomed that it’s at least happening now.
“I think they are distancing themselves from Andrew quite rightly. They don’t want further reputational damage to the monarchy from being linked to him.
“I don’t think it’s quite the end of the story, but I think it’s what needed to be done. Particularly, the comments about the victims, I welcome it. I think it shows the King has acted ruthlessly – there was a lot of criticism for appearing to be weak.”
While this move might provide some welcome distance for the palace from the allegations Andrew faces, he and his ex-wife are not “ out of the woods at all,” in the expert’s view.
Lownie said both Sarah and Andrew should cooperate fully with authorities in both the UK and the US over their ties to Epstein.
“There is a lot more to come,” Lownie claimed. “We’ve got the Epstein files, even redacted and destroyed, we’ve got court cases coming up, we’ve got the likelihood of more victims coming forward, emboldened by what’s happened. So I don’t think Andrew and Sarah are out of the woods at all.”
He continued: “I think that he should make himself available to the law enforcement agencies here, and in the States. He needs to explain, as does Sarah Ferguson, because she’s kind of been forgotten about, but she also was heavily involved in Epstein, and I think we do need a statement from her [about] exactly what her connections were with him.”
The expert added that in his view, there is a “strong likelihood” of formal charges against King Charles’s younger brother.
“There is a strong likelihood,” of the prospect of prosecution in the UK, Lownie said. “If the authorities investigate properly, there are good grounds for an investigation.”
Kensington Palace has been contacted for comment.
