Once regarded as Britain’s “playboy prince” and a Falkland War hero, Prince Andrew’s friendship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has resulted in a spectacular fall from grace for the man dubbed the Queen’s “favourite son.”
The Queen has stripped the Duke of York of his titles, including the use of HRH, and will redistribute his patronages across the Royal Family now that a civil court case brought against him by accuser Virginia Giuffre is set to proceed.
According to the BBC, the Queen effectively transitioned him from “61 years as a public figure to a ‘private citizen'” in a short statement released by Buckingham Palace.
A close relationship
The relationship between Prince Andrew and the Queen is said to have started when he was a child.
Elizabeth, who had been on the throne for seven years by the time Andrew was born in 1960, was able to spend much more time with her younger children, Andrew and Edward.
“When Prince Charles and Princess Anne were born, the Queen was unable to spend as much time with them as she would have liked,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told CNN.
While the Queen described Prince Charles as “emotionally complicated,” she described Andrew as “straightforward” and “the more glass-half-full of the pair” who could “make her laugh and lift the family’s spirits.”
Edward and Andrew were also kept much closer to home, being sent to Heatherdown Preparatory School in Ascot “so they could be educated closer to Windsor Castle.”
“The Queen made time for those children,” one royal source told the newspaper. “She used to turn up at the school with one bodyguard and drive herself sometimes. She would attend sports days and various matches.” The birth of Prince Andrew is also said to have coincided with a revitalisation of the Queen’s marriage with Prince Philip, according to HistoryExtra. The site claimed that she associated Andrew with the “re-booting of her marriage and a happy time in her life”.
Falklands war
Unlike Prince Charles, who studied archaeology, anthropology, and later history at Cambridge University, Andrew joined the Navy in 1979, following in his father’s footsteps. According to The Telegraph, he trained as a helicopter pilot, which is no doubt a source of “great pride” for both of his parents.
Andrew was aboard HMS Invincible as one of the ten Sea King helicopter pilots when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and he witnessed live action during the conflict.
“Andrew’s public image during the Falkland War did much to reinforce the idea that the crown and the British people were fighting together,” historian Ed Owens told HistoryExta.
“After establishing himself as a royal celebrity in his own right, Andrew’s image evolved, and it wasn’t long before he was portrayed as a ‘playboy prince’ fond of parties and female company.”
When he returned from the war, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh greeted him at the port of Portsmouth. “He returned a hero and was very much the royal family’s golden boy,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told The Mirror.
Queen’s sadness
More than two years after Prince Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview, in which he failed to explain his connections with Epstein convincingly, the Queen has finally been forced to act.
According to The Sunday Times, the conviction of Epstein’s close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, on sex trafficking charges was a “game-changer” in the Queen’s decision to strip her son of many of the trappings of royalty.
Until that point, the consensus had been that Andrew should “be allowed the opportunity to clear his name and that stripping him of his titles during a legal case would indicate presumption of guilt,” according to the paper.
“Look at the picture from 2001 [of Andrew, a young Virginia Roberts, and Maxwell] now,” a senior royal source told the paper. “In that Newsnight interview, he’s not just talking about one rogue person [Epstein], but also about a friendship with someone who’s a convicted sex trafficker and a victim.” Consider it in that light. Everyone [in the family] wants to be supportive, but he’s hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
The Queen made the “final decision” to remove Andrew from public life, seemingly forever, after consulting with heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his son William. It was a decision that was said to have caused the Queen “genuine sadness” and was solely hers to make. “Never assume she just rubber stamps stuff,” a courtier advised.
The Queen made the “final decision” to remove Andrew from public life, seemingly forever, after consulting with heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his son William. It was a decision that was said to have caused the Queen “genuine sadness” and was solely hers to make. “Never assume she just rubber stamps stuff,” a courtier advised.
Andrew will almost certainly be excluded from all Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which are set to begin in the summer.
“The plan is for him to be invisible during the festivities,” a source told The Sun.
According to The Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers, there will be “nervousness” in the Palace that Andrew’s trial will overshadow the celebrations, with some key dates of the civil case clashing with Platinum Jubilee events.
