About 24 hours after Prince Andrew lost his HRH-style and his patronages, he hosted a shooting party at Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate. Again, just a reminder: the Queen did not actually take away that much from Andrew. Yes, he’s sad to lose his HRH, but he hadn’t done anything with his patronages in over two years. He was only the patron of record during that time, and most of his patronages wanted to dump him a while ago. He still has his lease on Royal Lodge. He’ll still be invited to Balmoral. Mummy is still paying his bills and okaying shooting parties on the Windsor estate. Anyway, the Daily Beast had a rundown of some of the other Andrew stories happening over the weekend, so let’s do highlights:
The shooting party: The Sun on Sunday reports that he hosted a shooting party at Windsor on Friday, but didn’t take part. He and Sarah Ferguson joined the shooting group for lunch. A source said: “It seems quite brazen of Andrew to host a party and let his family go shooting with all the controversy raging.” The shoot, it was reported, may have been a Christmas present from the queen to Andrew’s daughter Eugenie.
Sanguine Andrew: A source told the Sunday Times of the queen cutting him loose: “He is quite sanguine about it. He was mindful of the intense pressures building on the institution and recognized it was the right thing to do.”
Tumultuous Andrew: However, sources close to Andrew speaking to the Sun claim he is “feeling like his insides have been ripped out.” A friend says: “He is in turmoil. Up until now, on advice of his lawyers, he didn’t think it would go this far. But he has now finally realized how bad the situation is and feels he has let the Queen down. He desperately wants to make amends, although he accepts that it will take a long time. He is relying on the love and support of his family to get through this.” Ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is “just trying to support him as she always has,” a friend tells the paper.
Tearful Andrew: A senior defense source told the Mirror that Andrew was “tearful” when the queen told him on Thursday she was stripping him of his titles and patronages. “The Prince was tearful when told the news even though he had expected it,” the source said. “He feels that he has let so many people down, not least his mother, during her Platinum Jubilee year.” Senior military figures see Andrew as “a bloody embarrassment,” the source added.
The Windsors have been talking about Andrew for a while: The Sunday Times also details the Christmas conversations featuring Prince Charles and Prince William that sealed Andrew’s fate, even though the queen took the lead on wielding the axe itself. “Conversations have been going on for a while,” a palace source told the Times. “The family were always clear that some of the duke’s advisers were too optimistic and these decisions were always going to have to happen.” It wasn’t just Charles and William sticking their two cents in. “Anne and Edward had more than a passing interest,” the source said.
The Queen buries her head in the sand: A royal source said of the queen herself: “She has had the opportunity to shut this down for the past two years—but she will do anything for a quiet life, and buries her head in the sand on family matters.” Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction was pivotal. Andrew might have escaped his expulsion “if Maxwell had been freed or the case had fallen apart.” The infamous BBC Newsnight interview, in which Andrew dripped with arrogance and self-delusion, didn’t lead to the queen to taking action “because he still had enough clout with his mother to convince her he’d get it over the line,” a source said. “Nobody had the energy to really dispatch him.”
How Charles & William really feel: Charles was the “acting chief exec” and “the driving force” on Andrew’s demise. As for William, “there is a frustration over Andrew’s awful judgement, but fundamentally William thinks his heart is in the right place.”
Re: William and his “frustration over Andrew’s awful judgement, but fundamentally William thinks his heart is in the right place…” What? Andrew was BFFs with a pair of pedophile human traffickers and Andrew stands accused of raping at least one trafficking victim. Andrew’s defense is built on shaming Virginia Giuffre for being a victim of trafficking and trying to argue that victims shouldn’t sue their abusers. But sure, Willy, Andrew’s “heart is in the right place.”
Re: “Nobody had the energy to really dispatch him” – all that means is the Queen has been digging in her heels for years and everyone knew she was wrong but she refused to listen to anyone but Andrew. Which speaks more to her own lack of morality.
Latest in today’s @TheSun Dozen friends stay at Andy’s mansion for shooting party, friends say he is in “turmoil” and “penny has dropped, and we can reveal TWO witnesses who can place Andy with Virginia are being pursued by her lawyers. pic.twitter.com/cKD54hsLk5
— Matt Wilkinson (@MattSunRoyal) January 16, 2022
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07-09-2019 Brugge Prince Andrew, Duke of York, at the parade on the market and flowers at the Charles II monument during the commemorative celebration of 75 years of liberation of Brugge, Belgium.
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- Prince William departs the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of The Right Honorable The 1st Earl of Snowden GCVO which took place at St Margarets Church, Westminster Abbey on 07/04/2017 . Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge , Prince Andrew , Duke of York . .,Image: 512339686, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: 49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon
- Prince William departs the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of The Right Honorable The 1st Earl of Snowden GCVO which took place at St Margarets Church, Westminster Abbey on 07/04/2017 . Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge , Prince Andrew , Duke of York .,Image: 512339702, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: 49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards / Avalon
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Andrew, Duke of York chat at the Royal Albert Hall for the Annual Festival of Remembrance on November 7, 2015 in London, England.,Image: 513691478, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: 1 239 689 1883 Berlin: 49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
- The Royal Family gather on the palace balcony at Trooping the Colour and Queens Birthday Parade on Saturday 9 June 2018 in Buckingham Palace , London. Pictured: Anne, The Princess Royal , Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales,Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge , Prince Louis of Cambridge. Picture by Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon. All usages must be credited Julie Edwards/LFI/Avalon.,Image: 515354247, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: 49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: 34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red / Avalon
- 166873, Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of York at the funeral of Countess Mountbatten of Burma at St.Paul’s church in Knightsbridge. London, United Kingdom – Tuesday June 27, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © Stephen Lock, i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): 1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 [email protected] FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 533054254, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
- The Duke of York and the Countess of Wessex, attend the Sunday service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, following the announcement on Friday April 9, of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99. Picture date: Sunday April 11, 2021. Prince Philip, was the longest-serving consort in British history.,Image: 604743224, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon [email protected] London 44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles 1 310 822 0419 Berlin 49 30 76 212 251 Madrid 34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
- The Duke of Cambridge attending a reception of the Joint Ministerial Council at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Picture date: Wednesday November 17, 2021. The Joint Ministerial Council is an annual meeting between UK Ministers and the leaders of the UK’s Overseas Territories that enables cooperation on a wide range of issues.,Image: 643725356, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon [email protected] London 44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles 1 310 822 0419 Berlin 49 30 76 212 251 Madrid 34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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The Queen at annual multi-faith service in celebration of the Commonwealth, at Westminster Abbey. London, United Kingdom – Monday March 11, 2019.
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