King Charles, Prince Andrew had ‘desk-pounding shouting match’ over monarch’s idea to downgrade nieces: author
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Earlier than Prince William and Prince Harry had been generally known as the battling brothers to rock the Home of Windsor, there was King Charles and Prince Andrew.
In 2008, a number of years earlier than Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein got here to mild, his older brother had an idea to streamline the monarchy, and it didn’t go effectively.
“Charles floated the idea that several Windsor offspring be demoted, stripped of their HRH standing, have their royal protection taken away, and, most revolutionary of all, kicked off the royal payroll,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” advised Fox Information Digital.
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Author Christopher Andersen advised Fox Information Digital Prince Andrew (left) fought his brother King Charles’ (proper) proposal to strip his daughters of their royal titles. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Photographs)
“Prince Andrew fought these proposals that would have resulted in his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie each being forced to earn their own living and downgraded from ‘Princess’ to ‘Lady,’ a suggestion that was shouted down in an angry confrontation between him and Charles,” Andersen mentioned.
In accordance to Andersen, the Duke of York didn’t assume twice earlier than he determined to “throw a fit.”
“By all accounts, it was a literal battle Royale, a desk-pounding shouting match between the two brothers, both known for their volatile tempers,” Andersen claimed. “Keep in mind that this was years before Andrew’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse scandal essentially forced the king to put Andrew out to pasture.”
“By all accounts, it was a literal battle royale, a desk-pounding shouting match between the two brothers, both known for their volatile tempers.”
Queen Elizabeth II (proper) accompanied by the previous Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (left), Princess Eugenie (middle) and Princess Beatrice in Scotland. England’s longest-reigning monarch died in 2022. She was 96. (Andrew Milligan/WPA Pool/Getty Photographs)
Andersen’s claims got here shortly after a number of royal consultants advised Fox Information Digital Beatrice and royal cousin Zara Tindall have stepped in to assist William as his father and Kate Middleton bear therapy for most cancers.
Andersen mentioned Charles, 75, had good purpose to take into consideration the monarchy’s future earlier than his feud with Andrew got here to a head.
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“In 2006, Prince William joined the Way Ahead Group, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s tight-knit circle of family and anonymous advisers whose whole purpose was to chart a future course for the monarchy,” Andersen defined. “Its members included Charles and his siblings Anne, Andrew, Edward, and, of course, the queen. Details of the group’s twice-yearly meetings were top secret.
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It’s been said King Charles and his younger brother, Prince Andrew, have had a frosty relationship over the years. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“The queen’s choices to voluntarily pay revenue taxes, to mothball the royal yacht HMS Britannia, and to finish primogeniture — the thousand-year-old previous rule stipulating that males have priority over females within the line of succession — all grew out of Method Forward Group deliberations,” Andersen explained. “Though Prince Harry was then third in line to the throne, he was not invited to be a part of. By 2008, deliberations targeted on future King Charles’ imaginative and prescient of a extra environment friendly, streamlined monarchy.”
The York sisters may have been generally known as “Woman Eugenie” and “Woman Beatrice.” (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
While demoting Eugenie and Beatrice would have been “a serious shakeup,” Andersen claimed the rivalry between the brothers goes way back.
“The king and Prince Andrew have all the time had a strained relationship,” Andersen said. “The queen lavished consideration on each Andrew and the youngest brother, Edward. Their father, Prince Philip, doted on Anne. They had been usually described as ‘two peas in a pod.’
The royal household at Buckingham Palace, London, 1972. Left to proper: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Edward and Prince Charles. (Fox Pictures/Hulton Archive/Getty Photographs)
“But as the oldest and heir to the throne, Charles was left out in the cold, emotionally abandoned by his parents,” Andersen claimed. “Charles was 11 when Andrew was born, and the king has resented his younger brother ever since.”
The queen, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 2022 at age 96. On the time, rumors had been swirling that Charles, who ascended to the throne, would strip Beatrice and Eugenie of their titles.
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of getting intercourse with an underage lady. (Rick Friedman/Corbis by way of Getty Photographs)
The Duke of York turned eighth in line to the throne, however his controversial friendship with Epstein, together with allegations of sexual assault, pressured Buckingham Palace to strip Andrew of his navy affiliations and royal patronages. It was believed that Charles would proceed eradicating any hint of affiliation to the dynasty after the prince, 64, “embarrassed” the household together with his actions.
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Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie (proper) are the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. They’re seen right here being accompanied by their uncle, King Charles III. (Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Photographs for Ascot Racecourse)
Beatrice, 36, and Eugenie, 34, are the daughters of Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, 64. The couple endured a extremely publicized divorce in 1996 however have remained pleasant by the years.
“Beatrice and Eugenie have always been particularly close to their cousins, William and Harry,” mentioned Andersen. “Even throughout Andrew’s scandalous, headline-making divorce from their mom, the sisters remained favorites of the queen.
Princess Beatrice and King Charles III on the Royal Ascot June 21, 2024, in Ascot, England. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Photographs)
“It’s ironic that now, with the king and Princess Kate battling most cancers, they’re proving indispensable to the king,” Andersen shared. “Charles definitely have to be glad that he did not undergo together with his plan to have them phased out. … Mockingly, Prince Andrew and Fergie are out within the chilly, however their two daughters are nonetheless very a lot within the royal thick of issues.”
The York sisters with their cousin, Prince William, who is heir to the British throne. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
Andersen also claimed the princesses have remained devoted to serving the crown, even if it means pulling away from certain relatives.
“William and Kate are keen on Beatrice and Eugenie, and it is price noting that Harry and his spouse, Meghan Markle, had been as soon as very shut to them as effectively,” Andersen said. “In latest months, nonetheless, the sisters have pulled again on their friendship with the Sussexes and made a present of their allegiance to the crown. Beatrice and Eugenie could have acted as peacemakers up to now, however I do not see that occuring now.”
Kate Middleton (right), the wife of Prince William, is battling cancer alongside her father-in-law, King Charles III. (Peter Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California. They have since publicly aired their struggles with royal life, which has further strained their relationship with the family.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020. They live in California. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“Standing with Harry and Meghan means standing towards the king, William and Kate,” Andersen added. “That is one thing the sisters cannot afford to do in the meanwhile, definitely not when they’re incomes so many goody factors with the royal household by pitching in as they’ve whereas the king and Kate are sidelined by their most cancers remedies.”
Christopher Andersen’s e-book, “The King,” is available now. (Gallery Books)
“It by no means hurts to be on the appropriate facet of the monarchy, one thing their mother and father realized the arduous means,” Andersen added.
In late 2019, Prince Andrew announced he was stepping back from royal duties because the Jeffrey Epstein scandal had become a disruption to the royal family. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 due to his connection to Epstein, a convicted sex offender. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles. Before she died in 2022, the queen also removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, and barred him from using the title “his royal highness” in official settings.
It has lengthy been reported that Prince Andrew (proper) was Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite son. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Photographs)
The council within the northern metropolis of York voted unanimously to withdraw the prince’s “freedom of town.” The honor was awarded to Andrew in 1987 after the queen made him the Duke of York. He is the first person to be stripped of the status, an honor that dates back to medieval times. Local leaders have since argued that Andrew should also lose the title of Duke of York. A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment at the time.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Virginia Roberts Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
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Virginia Roberts Giuffre with a photo of herself as a teen, when she says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew, among others. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who settled with Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Epstein was found dead behind bars in 2019 at age 66. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan prosecuted Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.
Andrew was named in previously secret court documents related to Epstein that were unsealed in the new year. It was part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Giuffre.
Prince Andrew has tried to maintain a low profile lately. (Reuters/Chris Radburn/File Picture)
The data, together with transcripts of interviews with a few of Epstein’s victims and previous police studies, contained reminders that the millionaire had surrounded himself with well-known and highly effective figures, together with just a few who’ve additionally been accused of misconduct.
Fox Information Digital’s Tracy Wright and The Related Press contributed to this report.