The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not release any kind of formal statement on the arrest of Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew. I’m glad they didn’t – they removed themselves from the Windsor sh-tshow six years ago and they’ve built a beautiful life for themselves and their children in California. They have every right to just shrug and say “not my monkey, not my circus.” Unfortunately, the British media exists and the royalist clique exists too, which is why there’s already an outsized focus on “Prince Harry should be thrown out too, alongside Andrew!” This has been happening for years, using Harry and Meghan to deflect from Andrew’s depravity and very real crimes. Well, People Magazine did get this interesting exclusive which I believe is from Team Sussex:
Prince Harry has long felt frustrated by comparisons to his uncle, former Prince Andrew — a sentiment sources say predates Andrew’s arrest but now offers insight into how Harry has viewed the family’s internal fault lines for years.
“He was frustrated by the comparisons. It was never fair to lump them together,” an insider tells PEOPLE. “Harry served his country, did the job well and never engaged in misconduct — yet lost security and housing, while Andrew was protected for years.”
That contrast has taken on renewed relevance following Andrew’s arrest on Thursday, Feb. 19, which sources describe as “embarrassing” for the wider family.
“In this moment, it’s sad and embarrassing for the entire family,” the insider says. “It leaves a stain on everybody.”
Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested at Wood Farm, where he has been staying on King Charles’ Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest stems from allegations that Andrew sent confidential information to Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy. He has not been charged and continues to deny wrongdoing.
Police say the arrest allows officers to question Andrew under caution and to search properties for evidence as part of their investigation. A charging decision will be made by the Crown Prosecution Service once police inquiries are complete.
As for Harry, the insider says his reaction would be consistent with long-held beliefs rather than a response to the arrest itself.
“Harry believes in justice and accountability — that’s very much in line with his character,” the source says, noting Harry’s multiple court cases in the U.K. in recent years against the U.K. tabloid press.
Yesterday, so many of the royal-commentary hot-takes on Andrew’s arrest were along the lines of “now THIS is the biggest crisis since the abdication of Edward VIII.” They are the boy who cried wolf, or the royalists who cried “biggest royal crisis.” You can’t spend seven years screaming, crying and throwing up over every little thing Harry and Meghan do and say, and then turn around and claim, with any legitimacy, that Andrew’s long-festering crimes are actually the real crisis. The two situations are connected for the monarchy and the press because both the monarchy and the press actively threw the Sussexes under the bus TO PROTECT ANDREW. To deflect from Andrew’s crimes and degeneracy. Harry has every right to come out now (in any way he chooses) and say: you had it wrong this whole time, look at the way you treated me versus the way you treated Andrew.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
