Will Prince William kick Prince Andrew from the royal family after this scandal?
Charles, Prince of Wales, had two children with his late wife, Princess Diana: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. While they are only two years apart and grew up in the same family environment, they couldn’t be more different.
Prince William is the picture of royalty, embracing his duties as an ambassador for the family & culture. Prince Harry has shed his royal coat and moved West to live a different life with his American wife. However, that isn’t the only scandal to hit the royal family in recent years.
Their uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was recently embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein case as the Epstein accusor, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, named him a frequent figure in the sex scandal and filed a lawsuit against him. The suit claims that the Duke of York sexually abused and raped her on three occasions between 1999-2000. How will Prince William treat his uncle when the dust settles?
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
As the eldest son of Prince Charles of Wales, Prince William is second in the line of succession. His father is heir apparent, meaning he is next in line and has been since 1952. That is the longest time served in that role in British history. With his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, still going strong at ninety-five-years-old, there are rumors Prince William’s father will be side-stepped, making The Duke of Cambridge the next King.
He has undoubtedly embraced his role in the family. Prince William has made protecting the environment one of his significant focuses by establishing The Earthshot Prize. The program consists of five branches: reviving oceans, restoring nature, climate revival, clean air, and waste-free. They will feature fifty ideas across the five branches over the next decade.
He has also developed a task force to help homeless children find shelter and then further equip them with the skills needed to make a life for themselves. With these focuses, he seems to be a person that believes in creating second chances. The question is whether or not he will extend those views to his uncle.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
The Duke of York was embroiled in the Epstein scandal when Giuffre accused him of child sexual abuse in 2019. Due to his involvement with Epstein, the royal family engaged in the most significant scandal since the death of Princess Diana.
In November of 2019, Prince Andrew sat down with Emily Maitlis, host of BBC’s Newsnight, to do an interview about his relationship with the deceased pedophile. He addressed photos and accusations, denying all of them.
He stated that all pictures of him with young girls or dancing in nightclubs were fabricated. He denied ever meeting with Giuffre and all of her sexual allegations as well. Perhaps the most criticized portion of the discussion was when he stated that he didn’t regret the relationship with Epstein.
Due to the scandal’s backlash and the interview, Prince Andrew has stepped back from his royal duties indefinitely with the Queen’s permission. Since Epstein has died, the English government has halted all investigations into Prince Andrew. However, that doesn’t mean the royal family won’t hand out a punishment of their own.
Prince William on Prince Andrew
While the royal family has yet to come out with any statement to condemn Prince Andrew’s actions or relationship with Epstein, a report from The Times of London suggests that the royal family doesn’t see a role in the family for him moving forward. It also claims that Prince William most strongly holds the position.
The sources within the report claim that Prince William sees his uncle as “ungracious and ungrateful for the protection and privilege his life offers.” The source goes on to say the Duke of Cambridge believes his uncle is a “threat to the family.”
The source continues, “Any suggestion that there isn’t gratitude for the institution, anything that could lead anyone in the public to think that senior members of the royal family aren’t grateful for their position is really dangerous.”
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Although there are rumors of Charles, Prince of Wales being side-stepped in favor of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge to take the throne, it is unlikely. If it does happen, then the Duke of York doesn’t seem to be on his nephew’s list of deserving second chances.
