
Last month, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, announced that his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, had granted him permission to “step back from public duties”. His resignation came as the scandal surrounding his ties to convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein, dominated the headlines.
By then, charities and universities associated with the Duke had begun to cut him loose. Editorials unleashed on his “dubious” and “disastrous” BBC Newsnight interview, in which he attempted to shut down claims that he’d had three sexual encounters with a woman named Virginia Guiffre, who’d allegedly been trafficked by Epstein when she was just 17.
Watch: Prince Andrew’s message for Virginia Giuffre. Post continues after video.
Yet the Duke’s resignation wasn’t so much him shrinking back into the shadows, as it was him being banished there by his own big brother. According to The New York Times, Prince Charles, king in waiting, “called his mother from [his tour of] New Zealand to press her to strip his brother of his public duties”.
The Daily Star has reported that the decision helped “jump start” the 71-year-old’s plans for a new, leaner Royal Family; one he intends on putting into place once he’s on the throne.