Does anyone find it interesting that King Charles and the rest of the “working royals” (aka the left-behinds) have spent the last week doing a flurry of “business as usual” events following Prince Andrew’s arrest on Feb. 19? For Charles and Camilla especially, they seemed extra eager to be out and about, although I guess that’s true of Prince William and Kate as well (they both did three events in the seven days after Andrew’s arrest, two together and one solo each). Do they all think that people will just forget what’s happening, off to the side? Do they think regular people will never wonder what they knew about Andrew and when? Well, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden has “heard” some whispers about what King Charles plans to do about Andrew long-term. Will the people accept “dither” as a course of action?
What I now find worrying are the rumours that reach me from Buckingham Palace about King Charles’s response to the crisis. After his brother’s arrest last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the King issued a statement expressing his ‘deepest concern’ about the news and making clear that the ‘appropriate authorities’ had his ‘full and wholehearted support and co-operation’.
However, Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne and, unbelievably, is still a Counsellor of State. This means he is, in theory at least, one of seven members of the Royal Family legally entitled to deputise for the Monarch if he is unwell or indisposed. When I ask royal sources why this has not been addressed, the answers I receive are disturbing. One tells me that it is because the King is deeply reluctant to ‘meddle’ with the line of succession.
‘He thinks it would be opening up a can of worms,’ a friend says. ‘For example, if Andrew is removed, would his daughters have to be, too? He thinks they are blameless and do not deserve to be punished.’
Another source tells me the King does not want to do anything which could be seen as prejudicial to his brother.
‘If he strips him of his place in the line of succession, this could be interpreted as a sign that he thinks Andrew is guilty,’ the source claims.
Both of these excuses are concerning. The King needs to take control of the crisis surrounding his brother. He could do this by stripping him of his role as a Counsellor of State and of his place in the line of succession. It would require an Act of Parliament of course, but I find it shocking that the King has not already started the process.
He demonstrated how simple it is to make changes to the list of Counsellors of State back in 2022 when he asked Parliament to add his sister, Princess Anne, and youngest brother, Prince Edward. This was done immediately with a minimum of fuss. It was reported at the time that he decided not to remove Andrew or Prince Harry because he didn’t want to escalate family tensions.
Although removing Andrew from the line of succession would take more effort, it could also be done easily with, I suspect, no objections from any of the King’s other realms, which would also have to give their approval. Indeed, the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand already eagerly expressed their enthusiasm for such a move this week. Doing so would not ‘open a can of worms’, it would indicate that the King appreciates how serious the situation is for the future of the monarchy. When Andrew is removed from the line of succession, his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, should be removed, also. They are only included in it because of their father, and it would be absurd for them to remain.
None of this would give the impression that the King considers his brother to be guilty of a crime. But it would make clear that Andrew’s behaviour, in consorting with a convicted sex offender and lying about it to the nation, is morally repugnant. The King needs to remember that he is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and it’s his duty to provide moral leadership.
You know what? A broken clock is right twice a day and Eden is correct – this IS a moment for Charles to do more, or at the very least, give the appearance of cutting Andrew out of everything. It’s clear that some MPs intend to pursue the line of succession issue, and Charles should probably give his open approval of that move immediately. I also think it’s ridiculous that Andrew is still a Counsellor of State, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that they should have taken care of years ago. And at some point, Andrew should really have his royal protection pulled, right? It’s absurd that he still has Met Police chauffeuring him around and picking him up from the police station. So… is the larger point that Charles will forever dither about Andrew?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
