“That’s the bit I kick myself about.” So said the former Prince Andrew of his decision in 2010 to stay with Jeffrey Epstein — by then a convicted sex offender — in New York. Today, now plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, he will be kicking himself about so much more of his behaviour over the past 15 years, which has led to permanent exile from royal life, eviction from Windsor to Norfolk and the stripping of all his titles.
The Buckingham Palace statement on Thursday night announcing the game was finally up for Andrew showed a rare ruthlessness from the King, who had hoped the statement from Andrew two weeks earlier, saying he would voluntarily relinquish his dukedom, might quell the growing public and parliamentary pressure over the scandal engulfing the monarchy.
Andrew has always denied the allegations by Virginia Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir was published last month repeating her claims that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to Andrew. She said that he sexually abused her three times when she was 17.
Friends of the King pointed to a line in Charles’s statement: “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.” One said: “That was extraordinary. That’s the closest you’ll get to the King and his court passing judgment on his brother.”
Charles and Andrew in Calgary in 1977, respectively aged 29 and 17
ANWAR HUSSEIN/GETTY IMAGES
For the first time — after 15 years of scandal swirling around Andrew — there was also an acknowledgment of the victims and their suffering: “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
A friend of the King and Queen revealed that, in all previous statements issued by the Palace since Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, each time courtiers drafted in references to the victims they were removed. Any such communication had required Andrew’s sign-off.
The friend said: “There has long been a sense from the family that the voices of the victims needed to be heard in these pronouncements, because they feature so heavily in this saga and because there is no credible way the Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh can continue to do the work they do in the areas of sexual abuse if they can’t point to that.
“Now, the King has lost his patience: you can see this statement is no longer a statement by committee, it’s a statement from the King.”
Charles with baby Andrew, 1960
ALAMY
Royal sources say Camilla, who has read the coverage of Giuffre’s book, Nobody’s Girl, has been “a wise counsel, a support and cheerleader” for Charles during his decision-making process. Another source who knows the King said: “They got it wrong first time. They’ve got it right now. But it’s going to be tough. It must be awful to disgrace your brother. But he has shamed all of them without compunction.”
Some sources close to Charles say he was always going to choose the nuclear option of formally stripping Andrew of his baubles and evicting him from Royal Lodge, and was just biding his time to get his legal and constitutional ducks in a row.
But other friends of the King believe Charles, who was heckled during an engagement, could see that the half-measure of putting Andrew’s titles “into abeyance” would not wash.
“What’s changed in two weeks is the King and Queen have been out taking the temperature of the public — they’re doing national surveys at every engagement,” said a friend. “They have felt the public anger and they have acted. You can feel the exhalation of the public going, ‘At last, something we understand.’ There’s been too much technical and confusing posturing of titles being put into abeyance. People don’t know what that means, but with the King taking hold of it now, this feels final, this is the handling people have been waiting to see.”
The friend added: “The King and his courtiers could see that the Andrew problem was [becoming] a contagion that was more serious than the illness itself, with more and more questions being asked about the institution. Don’t forget, this is what the King is built for, he’s been forged in the fires of reputational adversity and I’ve never seen him struggle to make the big, difficult decisions.”
Others who know Charles, 76, who is still receiving weekly cancer treatment, feel he should never have had to make these decisions. They have been forced by Andrew’s refusal to keep a lower profile at family gatherings like the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September, and his refusal to leave Royal Lodge for Frogmore Cottage in Windsor — the King’s original suggestion, made more than a year ago.
At the Duchess of Kent’s funeral and, below, in 1981
REUTERS
A former courtier said: “This must be taking an emotional toll on the King. He has stood by his brother until now and his brother should have done the decent thing by him and fallen on his sword years ago. But that just goes to the measure of the man, he’s got no moral compass. Of all members of the royal family, he was the most loathed by the household, so there are not many people sobbing in their cornflakes.”
A source who knows Andrew and the royal family said Andrew had repeatedly ignored advice on how to handle successive scandals which, had he taken it, could have avoided the need for Charles’s drastic action.
“Never do an interview thinking you are cleverer than the tons of research that has been done by the interviewer and the team,” they said. “The way you treat people will always be reflected when you are in trouble. If you’re in a position of public scrutiny, take advice from people who will tell you the truth and things you may not want to hear, and not from people who tell you what you want to hear.”
It is thought Andrew will move to a property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk in the coming months, funded privately by Charles, who “will make appropriate provision for him”.
He is likely to keep a low profile when the Prince and Princess of Wales are in residence at Anmer Hall, their country home on the estate, where they often spend weekends and school holidays with their children.
William and Kate are understood to have supported Andrew’s move to Norfolk from Windsor, where they have just moved to their new home, Forest Lodge.
Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife who has lived with him for years at Royal Lodge despite their divorce in 1996, will make alternative arrangements.
While Andrew, 65, will still be able to ride from the stables at Sandringham, those who know him believe he will find it hard to adjust. A source said: “I genuinely don’t know how he will acclimatise. Of all the royal family, he’s the one who will find his reduced circumstances the hardest to bear. He won’t be allowed in the big house, he won’t have Fergie who’s been his strength and stay for all these years, he won’t be able to see Beatrice and Eugenie as much, the King and the rest of the family won’t want to be seen with him. What will he do with the rest of his life?”
Sources close to Ferguson, 66, say that despite deciding to “move forwards independently from Andrew personally and professionally”, she is not deserting him, as some have suggested. A friend said: “They will still come together as a family unit and she will still support Andrew. Their girls are very much onside and behind her, together.
“Sarah has spent the past few years heavily supporting Andrew and now is the time for her to focus on herself. She is looking forward to that aspect of being independent,” the friend added. Last year Ferguson told The Sunday Times that living with Andrew was like being a “carer” for “a sad man”.
Sarah Ferguson with Andrew, Eugenie and Beatrice in 2015
The King and those close to him maintain that despite taking action against Andrew because of “serious lapses of judgment” there remains a “duty of care” to him. The pressure on him is likely to continue with ongoing scrutiny of his links to Epstein; his ties to the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who denied being an agent of influence and with whom he forged a friendship and business relationship; and his decade of jetting around the world at taxpayers’ expense in his role as the UK’s “special representative” for trade and investment.
Andrew also continues to face calls from Giuffre’s family and others to assist the authorities here and in the US with their investigations into Epstein. Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told the BBC that “he needs to be behind bars”.
Charles is in Sandringham this weekend, hoping for a few days of peace. He will also hope his decisive action last week takes the heat out of the Andrew problem for now, and that the public’s focus will, in time, shift from scandal back to the royal agenda.
Prince William will arrive in Brazil on Monday for five days of engagements surrounding his environmental Earthshot awards in Rio de Janeiro, which he and his aides hope will not be overshadowed by his uncle’s fall from grace. He will also attend the Cop30 climate conference in Belém, alongside Sir Keir Starmer, and deliver a keynote speech.
Just as royal sources say “the Prince of Wales fully supports the King’s leadership” on the Andrew problem, they are keen to emphasise that the King and his heir, both longstanding environmental activists, are in lockstep on official business this week. A royal source said: “The Prince of Wales has been speaking with His Majesty about his speech at Cop this week, obviously it’s something that they both feel extremely passionate about. This is a really important moment, the first time the Prince of Wales has represented both his father and His Majesty’s government at Cop.”
The King and Queen will undertake public engagements this week and next; the Princess Royal will make official visits to Australia and Singapore. A friend of the royal family said: “They will do what they always do — they’ll get back to work and remind people of the public service the institution can return to after it rides out these storms. The family will do what they’ve done for generations — they’ll keep calm and carry on.”
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