The British media of course tried to distract from the Prince Andrew situation over the weekend, but even those nutjobs understand that they still need to go over Andrew’s carcass. They mostly understand that because American outlets are still focused on Andrew! There were tons of stories about how Andrew is doing now that he’s been stripped of his HRH and patronages, and stories about where it all went wrong. The Daily Beast had a somewhat interesting primer on how long Andrew has been coasting on being the Queen’s favorite, how many times Liz has shielded him, and how often he told people (in the past two years) that he was about to come back. Even when Ghislaine Maxwell was in custody and facing a criminal trial, Andrew still believed he was on the royal comeup. Per the Daily Beast: “In the week before his father’s funeral, in April 2021, he was telling people—wrongly—that he expected to be able to resume public duties shortly. He pressed his mother to let him appear at the funeral in the uniform of an admiral of the fleet. She demurred, banning any military uniforms.” I halfway forgot that – Andrew wanted to put on his military drag at his daddy’s funeral. I didn’t know that Andrew was also telling people he was coming back as soon as Philip kicked the royal bucket.
Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair also had an exclusive about how Andrew will “disappear from sight” now:
Prince Andrew will “disappear from sight” and will not be present at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations after being stripped of his military roles and titles on Thursday. Sources close to Andrew, who is no longer allowed to use his HRH title in any official capacity, will not be representing the queen in any way during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as the royal family goes into damage control in hopes of protecting the queen and ensuring her spring celebrations are not overshadowed by any more controversy.
According to a source close to the royal family, the queen’s decision to remove Andrew’s titles will not have been an easy one, but is part of the firm’s necessary strategy to erase Andrew from public life in order to protect the reputation of the monarchy.
“He won’t be at the Jubilee, he is going to disappear from sight,” the source told Vanity Fair. “He knows that he cannot further tarnish the queen’s reputation, and that is very much the view of the family. The way they plan to deal with this is to remove Andrew from official royal life and public view. This has been the queen’s decision, but it is supported by other senior family members.”
It is understood that Prince Charles and Prince William were consulted ahead of Buckingham Palace’s statement on Thursday and fully support the queen’s decision. The source added that there was concern among the family for Andrew’s well-being. “He is absolutely devastated and if I was to describe how he is, I would say very shaken. This has come as a huge blow,” the family friend says.
But it is not just Andrew who is stunned by the judge’s decision. Sources close to the queen say that the prospect of Andrew being tried in a civil case in the United States has been incredibly concerning and stressful for Her Majesty. One aide who has worked with the queen explains, “The queen has a great ability to compartmentalize and deal with problems in a considered and pragmatic way, but this is her beloved son and the decision she has made will be a very sad one for her.”
[From Vanity Fair]
Do you think Liz is shaken up? I don’t. I think Liz has always been so tone-deaf, in general, that she never had a problem believing whatever Andrew told her, and I would guess that she still has some belief that she can protect Andrew and have him around in some unofficial capacity. I mean, it’s not like he married a glamorous Black American woman! The Queen isn’t prepared to cut off Andrew from everything! He’ll still have Royal Lodge, he’ll still have royal protection officers, he’ll still have his mummy’s ear. So much of these pieces are, again, trying to convince people that the Queen can be “ruthless” when it comes to her favorite son, that her actions are always for the good of the monarchy. When really, the Queen’s horrible decision-making and affection for her rapist son shows that at the tailend of her reign, she’s been pretty awful for the “institution.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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