Since former-Prince Andrew’s arrest almost one month ago, the Windsors have been desperately trying to keep calm, carry on and scapegoat anyone and everyone in an effort to protect the principals. There have been high-level briefing campaigns against the Sussexes and the York princesses, and Sarah Ferguson is still missing. They’re doing anything they can to change the subject from Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, except when they’re trying to rope other people into the still-ongoing fiasco. Well, welcome to the wheels of the bus, Princess Anne. Why in the world did Richard Kay get authorized to bring Anne into this? From Kay’s exclusive in the Mail:
Princess Anne had to work through 2024: When both Charles and Kate were being treated for cancer, she almost single-handedly kept the show on the road, and when she herself was injured in the summer of 2024 after suffering a suspected blow to the head from a horse, her three-week absence while recuperating revealed just how threadbare Windsor family resources are.
Anne’s relationship with former-Prince Andrew: When it comes to relations with her middle brother, I have learned that her approach has been notably independent-minded….Until last Christmas at least, Anne was still holding a sympathetic and tolerant line towards Andrew – she apparently made a point of telephoning Royal Lodge, where he was still holed up, on Christmas Day when the rest of the family were at Sandringham. But she has also been angry with him for his links to Jeffrey Epstein and the shadow they have cast over the royals, and has questioned him about them. The former prince’s love of money and unchecked libido were as well-known inside the family as they were outside it.
Anne raised the idea of Andrew moving into her estate: She raised the idea of Andrew moving to her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire as a bolthole when the calls for him to be evicted from Royal Lodge grew shrill. This was not just an act of Christian charity but a willingness to surround him with family love – and totally in character. After divorcing her first husband, equestrian Captain Mark Phillips, she allowed Phillips to settle in a farmhouse at Gatcombe so he could be close to their children, Peter and Zara.
Anne isn’t defending Andrew after the release of the Epstein Files: She also believed Andrew’s protestations of innocence at some of the more lurid allegations. But her attitude is said to have hardened with the release of the Epstein files. After the emergence of compromising photographs and damaging claims about him allegedly passing confidential government information to Epstein and others in his circle – potentially enriching them – Anne recognised it had become harder to defend Andrew. As a result, say insiders, she came to share the family view that unless Andrew was distanced, the risk of reputational damage to the institution would be considerable.
But Anne didn’t want to see Andrew stripped of his titles: For all her blunt-speaking style, Anne does firmly believe in family, dynasty and tradition. Which is why, I am told, she at first found it difficult to fathom that the son, brother, and uncle of monarchs could no longer be an actual royal. Andrew’s argument that the King’s decision to strip him of his titles was a public declaration of his guilt, even though he denies doing anything wrong, originally found some support among the family, including Anne. She now shares the family view that the King has done the right thing in banishing Andrew – but she still is reluctant to see him excluded from private family gatherings.
Andrew’s mental health: Shaken by his arrest, I understand she has continued to be in contact with him. Despite that familiar gruff and just-get-on-with-it approach she inherited from Prince Philip, Anne has been concerned about Andrew’s mental welfare as his world has imploded. Intriguingly, this has been encouraged by her son-in-law, former rugby player Mike Tindall, who may have more real-world experience than any other royal.
Anne doesn’t care for Prince William & Kate’s antics: Anne… dislikes the way the family has moved away from Queen Elizabeth’s approach. For example, she likes Kate very much but she is not entirely comfortable with the way Catherine and William have opened their hearts at times of personal difficulty.
Kay wants to assure everyone that Andrew lied to Anne as well and she knows it’s over for Andrew except she still talks to Andrew and still thinks he should have his titles and be allowed to go to family events and she’s also worried about his mental health. Great job, guys. You’ve made a 75-year-old woman sound like she doesn’t think much of anything should happen to p3dos and sex traffickers, especially when those predators are related to her. Keep in mind, Anne hasn’t said one word publicly about her brother. Neither has Queen Camilla. Considering the statements from Prince Edward, Prince William and Charles, there’s a sense that… they have no idea what they’re actually supposed to say. And they especially do not want to open themselves up to any questions about what they knew and when.
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