It’s certainly an interesting time to be a fan of the British Royal Family, if gossip and intrigue happens to tickle your fancy.
As with the passing of any great matriarch, it was perhaps expected that the stability of the monarchy would face certain trials following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. After all, the late queen had ruled for over 70 years, and so her not being here was always going to cause a vacuum of sorts.
That’s hardly been helped by the fact that both King Charles and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer in the first part of last year, dealing a double blow to the Royal Family and its prospects for the future.
Not only that, but there remains at least some questions to be answered where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are concerned. The Sussexes have burned all manner of bridges through their repeated public declarations and accusations in the recent past, and one gets the feeling we haven’t yet seen the last of the controversy where they’re concerned.
Yet any and all turbulence they might be responsible for pales in comparison to the storm Prince Andrew finds himself at the center of.
The disgraced royal earlier this month announced that he would be giving up his titles as a result of the ongoing PR catastrophe linking him to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now speculation insists that he may even have to go further than that.
The long and short of the current situation – as reported by several outlets – is that Prince William is ashamed of his uncle’s behavior, and that any and all leniency shown to Prince Andrew will come to an abrupt end when his brother, King Charles, is no longer around.
Prince William was among those who spoke to Andrew prior to the ostracized prince’s decision to renounce his official titles say he is pressuring Andrew and Sarah Ferguson – also embroiled in the Epstein-related scandal – to move out of the Royal Lodge.
In fact, William is going as far as to threaten the royal titles held by Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, if the disgraced pair refuse to vacate their.
“There was a question over whether there had been, earlier in the day, a meeting between Prince William and the princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie, saying you guys have to get your dad to move out of Royal Lodge otherwise we will start re-examining the state of your own titles,” former BBC journalist Emily Maitlis claimed on her podcast, The News Agents.
It was Maitlis, readers will surely remember, who conducted the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, 65, on BBC Newsnight, where the prince stumbled and tripped over allegations linking him to Jeffrey Epstein and accuser Virginia Giuffre. Some might argue that it was said interview that put the nail in the coffin regarding Andrew’s plummet from grace as far as the perspective of the public is concerned.
“They are at the moment allowed to be princesses, but there was a bit of pressure, we understand, being put on the princesses to say this is going to happen,” Maitlis continued on her podcast.
“Obviously, you can see why Andrew, as a father, would want to keep their daughters happy and keep their titles in place come what may.”
Back in 2003, Andrew reportedly made a one-time payment of approximately $1.3 million for a 75-year lease of the Royal Lodge. He also spent millions on initial renovations.
The 65-year-old has reportedly agreed to leave his longtime residence only if two conditions are met: a new royal home is supplied for himself and another for Ferguson, 66, who has lived with her ex-husband since 2008.
“Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands,” a friend of the couple said. “He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at Royal Lodge is up.”
