A Wife for Prince Andrew, Duke of York

[Russophile]

IMO, rmay, they are welcome to each other. You might want to put the link to this article over in the PA thread if it isn't already there. It gives some good info. on HRH's duties and the etc.
Thanks for it, though.

 

[Skydragon]

I was brought up to do this sort of work. It is training, experience and genetics

No, it's the luck of the draw!

He is also defensive about his former wife, who has moved back into his home, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.She is reported to owe £700,000. “I have been vaguely aware she has been in the papers,” said the Duke. Does she have financial problems? “Not if you go into the full facts. There are a lot of stories and counter stories. Quite a lot of it scurrilous.”
They remained great friends? “Yes. We have two great children. We still look after them.”
Having been a single man for 13 years, would he remarry? “Do we have to be married? Well let’s put it another way. I can neither confirm nor deny the possibility

If the allegations of Sarah being in debt are slanderous, why no court case, that would be much more believable than her saying she is not in debt. As for 'looking after the children', is there something wrong with them, because at their age they should be able to order meals from the staff, dress and look after themselves? Clearly he didn't want to tell an outright lie, 'do we have to be married', why bother when they remain married in all but name!

 

[Odette]

Some people in the US call such relationships "friends with benefits". If we assume that the Duke tried to be coy about it and he was actually thinking of his ex when he said "do we have to be married"? he leaves a door wide open.
I totally agree that the "children" can no longer be a reason or an excuse.
One thing that is unbelievable is that Sarah made the front pages of the newspapers and magazines and the Duke, is "vaguely" aware of it.

 

[Patra]

Odette, you took the tought right out of my head, I was JUST thinking,"yeah right, friends, with fringe benifits!" Agree its quite an interesting hunch.......

 

[Iluvbertie]

...I just can't believe the pair would keep a relationship like that a secret.

That is where we have to differ because I do believe that they are a couple in everyway except on the marriage certificate.

 

[DuedePhiladelphia]

That is where we have to differ because I do believe that they are a couple in everyway except on the marriage certificate.

I believe that too, bertie!

 

[Mermaid1962]

This is what makes the most sense to me as well.

 

[Skydragon]

One thing that is unbelievable is that Sarah made the front pages of the newspapers and magazines and the Duke, is "vaguely" aware of it.

And that makes it hard not to question the rest of his statements!

 

[Iluvbertie]

I know I can see things differently from other people but I saw Andrew's comment as more 'tongue in cheek' and not a literal meaning. I didn't see it as Andrew saying he didn't know that Sarah had been in the paper but more along the lines of 'I am fully aware of it but I am not saying anything about it as only a fool or someone who had been on Mars for the last couple of months wouldn't be aware that she had been in the papers.'


This is one of those occasions where seeing the person speak and actually hearing the intonation gives a lot of meaning but the words on the page don't necessarily convey the meaning.

 

[rmay286]

Yes, I think Andrew obviously knew Sarah had been in the news because he later talked about how "there had been a lot of stories"; but I don't think he wanted to discuss it.

That's why I also think he said he "couldn't confirm or deny the possibility" of remarriage. Obviously there is a possibility, or he would have denied it. But if he had said, "Yes there's a possibility" the papers would have practically announced his remarriage the next day. "Neither confirm nor deny" is pretty much government or legal-speak for, "There's some truth to what you're saying, but if I confirm anything you're going to make a big headline out of it that goes far beyond what I've said." I think Prince Andrew didn't want to talk too much about his personal life, which is fair enough.

 

[Skydragon]

... This is one of those occasions where seeing the person speak and actually hearing the intonation gives a lot of meaning but the words on the page don't necessarily convey the meaning.

Very true, and like you, I believe Sarah & Andrew are a married couple, they just no longer have the certificate!

 

[RubyPrincess168]

I always think Sarah & Andrew will get remarried some day, even if its just a civil ceremony.

 

[Renata4711]

I rather think you're right, and there would be a lot of support among Royalwatchers if they did. Let's hope they will summon up the courage to remarry, and the sooner, the better.

 

[muriel]

I would be surprised if they actually bothered to remarry. If they want to be together, they can pretty much do as they wish in private. Remarrying would suggest there be an obligation of a public role for Sarah, and I am not sure that is in line with public, press or BRF expectations. Far simpler, to live together peacefully, as a family. This would give her the freedom to pursue her commercial ventures as well.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I don't think they will remarry because Sarah couldn't cope with royal life before so why would she put herself into that position again with the negative press that she would get from the British press and public. I don't think many people in Britian would support her becoming HRH The Duchess of York again as from my perspective she is simply despised there.

 

[Al_bina]

I would not like Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York to re-marry. Re-marrying a former spouse works only in cheap soap operas. However, if they happen to re-marry, they can always hire some version of Mark Bolland to retouch the couple's image.

 

[scooter]

:-D Al Bina! I believe that Mr Bolland himself is available, having served his purpose with C and C!

 

[MARG]

Gee Scooter, ya think?

 

[muriel]

...from my perspective she is simply despised there.

I would not go as far as saying that Sarah is "simply despised", but she surely is not held in the esteem that one would expect the wife of the Duke of York to be held in.

 

[scooter]

That's true of his elder brother's wife too, but it didn't stop them from marrying, amidst much constitutional consternation. At least if Andrew and Sarah remarried, the CoE would be 100% in favor.

 

[muriel]

I think you may fuind that the position wrt to Camilla is very different. Other than a few die hard Diana fans, most people int he UK accept Camilla as the consort to the PoW. Other than her lng standing relationship with the PoW, nobody has ever really been able to point to any major mistakes that Camilla may have made in her public role.

As regards the Yorks', neither Andrew nor Sarah are held in particularly high esteem, and nor have they really done much to winthe respect of the public. The role of the CoE is a lot less relevant in the case of the Yorks', given their distance from the throne. So, IMO, the comparison between Sarah and Camilla is copletely inappropriate.

 

[Zonk]

I agree muriel.

In fact, the only way that Camilla comes into the discussion of a potential York remarriage is that it is evident that Charles is happy and being with Camilla in a legalized relationship is one of the reasons.

I am pretty confident that if Andrew came to his brother (after the Queen and DoE are no longer alive) and said 1) despite what anyone thinks I love Sarah and Sarah loves me; 2) she makes me complete and 3) and her role in my life is not up for negotiation, Charles will want to his brother to be happy.

With all that in mind, I totally agree that Sarah might be hesitant to remarry Andrew and go back into the royal family with all of the restrictions. Likewise the British public might not be too excited about a remarriage. But IF THEY WANT I can't see why Andrew and Sarah can't date or just serve as companions to each other. There is nothing wrong with that.

If Andrew does remarry it will be Sarah, if not, I don't see him doing it. Think Prince Betril and Princess Lillian of Sweden in their 60's or 70's.

 

[scooter]

Exactly Zonk.

 

[Al_bina]

Does Prince Andrew really need Prince Charles' permission to re-marry his former wife? May be ... Does Prince Charles care enough about Prince Andrew's personal life? I doubt that. In light of his own highly publicized tattles and subsequent legalisation of relationship with the love of his whole life, Prince Charles is not in a position to deny Prince Andrew to re-marry the love of his life.
At the same time, I would like to repeat the point I have made earlier. Re-marrying a former spouse is melodramatically cheap.

 

[Zonk]

Well I am basing my comments on the fact that the Queen and DoE are no longer alive and Charles is King and in fact, head of the family. My assumptions are based on that fact:

1) Sarah and Andrew do with to remarry. Sarah is willing to be a Full time legit member of the firm with no hint of scandal and the British public is like whatever we dont' care. If they don't, well all below doesn't matter);
2) The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are dead. At least the DoE....I don't think the Queen will mind, but Prince Phillip is another story
3) If the Queen and the Duke are dead, Charles is therefore King and Andrews needs his permission to marry under the Royal Marriages Act
4) Because Charles went thru a lot to marry Camilla, he might be sympathetic to his brother's woe and lack of companion. And again, although Charles and Andrew aren't like best buddies (or have the relationship of William and Harry) I would think that Charles would want his brother to be happy. Its not as though they hate each other, at least to my knowledge.

 

[Al_bina]

I see your point. If the couple does re-marry, they can hire some PR person to re-launch Sarah, Duchess of York. It worked with one daughter-in-law and will work with the other, whose image is tarnished in a different fashion and may be easier to recover.

 

[rmay286]

At one time people thought Camilla and Charles would never marry, yet here we are 4 1/2 years after their marriage. I definitely can't see the Queen or Prince Charles saying no to Andrew if he asked to remarry Sarah. The Queen seems to be on good terms with Sarah and Charles has always struck me as a pretty tolerant person who doesn't mind what other people do as long as it doesn't disrupt his own life.

I know a lot of you say that it's easier for Sarah and Andrew to live the way they do and for Sarah to stay out of the royal family, but people said the same about Charles--that Camilla could be his companion for all intents and purposes and he didn't need to marry her because it would be too controversial. Granted, Sarah has a disgraced history with the royal family, while Camilla doesn't, but the point is that in both Charles and Andrew's cases it seemed, "on paper" convenient to live with the women they loved rather than marry them. Yet Charles married Camilla because, I think, he wanted to have a companion at his side in his public life as well as in his private life (and when he eventually became king). He didn't want to have to hide his relationship with Camilla.

I think Andrew would be the same way. If Andrew and Sarah reach the point where they know they want to spend the rest of their lives together, and they're confident they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes in their relationship, then I can't see them having a discreet partnership where they just spend time together on the weekends while Andrew spends his weeks traveling around the world and Sarah flies to America. That was why their marriage foundered in the first place--too much time apart. If they decide they want to have a romantic relationship again then I think it will be "all or nothing". Either Andrew and Sarah will be friends who see each other occasionally when they're both not working--as they do now--or they'll be lovers who spend all their time together, publicly and privately.

I think it will interesting to see what happens in the next few years as Beatrice and Eugenie get older and possibly marry. It already makes me laugh when Andrew and Sarah use "the children" as an excuse for why they are friends. Maybe when one of their daughters marries, that will give Andrew and Sarah a reason to evaluate where their relationship stands.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I think a major reason why Charles and Camilla married was that he wanted to have her have an acknowledged place by his side and there was a wedding a few months before the engagement at which they weren't going to be able to sit together.

I remember that in 2002 Camilla was in the row or two behind the royals at the Jubilee celebrations but in 2012 she will be front and centre.

I don't see Andrew and Sarah marrying because I don't see her wanting to give up her freedom again but then again his public role doesn't need a wife by his side and he has taken Beatrice at least once so I think Andrew is grooming Beatrice to be the one to be with him in the future. I see Beatrice's future husband a bit like Anne's - with his own career and only occasionally on royal parade whereas Beatrice will be full-time.

 

[rmay286]

I think that Sarah does value her freedom, but I honestly think that if she fell back in love with Andrew to the extent that she was in love with him in the 80s, she would give up her freedom to be with him. I think she would only do it if she was convinced they could make it again as a couple, but once she was convinced that she wanted a relationship with Andrew again, I don't think Sarah would accept anything less than remarriage and public life together.

Of course, whether the royal family would let Sarah back in is another matter. Prince Philip wouldn't, but I think the Queen and Charles probably would, eventually.

Maybe Prince Andrew sees Beatrice as accompanying him on his job in the future, but is that something Beatrice would want to do? I don't know...I somehow can't see Beatrice as becoming interested in being a 'trade ambassador'.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Of course, whether the royal family would let Sarah back in is another matter. Prince Philip wouldn't, but I think the Queen and Charles probably would, eventually.

I very much doubt the Queen ever would.
They've been a part for how long? 17 years? I don't see them getting back together. As iluvbertie says, DofY will not give up her freedom or anything she's gained since her divorce.