(...)
Andrew is said to remain convinced there is still a royal role for him in some shape or form, if the dust ever settles. It is not a view shared up the chain of command. When he tested the water last year — with a source close to Andrew telling*The Sunday Times*he hoped to “serve his country and support the monarchy in the future” with a “public role”, claiming he had “support from the family” — the royal slap-down was swift. The Queen may be privately supportive of her son, but a palace aide firmly conveyed Her Majesty’s stance: “While the hurdles around the Epstein case are still hanging over him, it will be difficult for him to represent the family in any capacity. In these situations, the monarchy tends to take precedence over the family. The royal family is supportive of him thinking about what life might be like after issues are resolved, but the palace is not currently planning any future rebranding of his role.”
The Prince of Wales was understood to be furious about Andrew’s claim of family support for a future role. After Giuffre filed her lawsuit, a source close to Charles said that while “the prince loves his brother”, the matter continues to bring “unwelcome reputational damage to the institution”, convincing Charles that “a way back for the duke is demonstrably not possible, because the spectre of this [accusation] raises its head with hideous regularity”.
Prince William, who joined crisis talks with his grandmother and father over the decision to remove Andrew from public life, agrees that the change should be permanent. “There is no way in the world he’s ever coming back, the family will never let it happen,” says a royal source. “William is no fan of Uncle Andrew,” says a friend of the Duke of Cambridge.
(...)
Courtiers make no secret of the fact they feel the Giuffre matter is damaging the monarchy, but a palace aide dismisses the idea that help is being withheld: “From our perception the duke’s legal team is advising him and the legal team don’t want the palace involved. The fact is he is no longer a working member of the royal family, so the palace shouldn’t be getting involved.” The aide adds pointedly: “He is getting a lot of support from his mother.”
As well as continuing to offer Andrew private support and a home on her estate, it is thought that the Queen is assisting him financially from her private Duchy of Lancaster income. The duke no longer receives any public funding from the Sovereign Grant, and his £20,000 annual naval pension is unlikely to touch the sides of paying for the lifestyle to which he is accustomed. But a source who has spent plenty of time with the royal family disputes the regularly reported theory that Andrew is his mother’s favourite son: “The Queen doesn’t have favourites — you see the interaction and feel the dynamics and I’ve never felt favouritism there.”
One of Andrew’s problems is that he is not very popular. Mention his name in royal circles and courtiers roll their eyes. As one former aide explains: “He’s not made any friends on the way up, so no one is helping him on the way down.” One Whitehall source describes him as “a self-important bore”. A military source who has dealt with Andrew on several engagements does not mince words: “I’ve got no time for Andrew. He’s a total dickhead, an arrogant ****.” A source who assisted with Andrew’s 2012 charity abseil down the Shard in London recalls his less-than-Prince Charming behaviour: “He was a total diva, lashing out at everyone.”
A former member of the royal household says that an incident in 2001, while he was walking across the forecourt at Buckingham Palace with colleagues, sums up the duke’s approach to staff: “Andrew’s Aston Martin shot through the front gates and we were forced to make an abrupt halt to avoid colliding with him as he shouted, ‘Get out of my way.’ ” Another former staff member says: “He’s quite an arrogant chap with a tendency to blame other people when things go wrong, instead of looking at his own behaviour. The Duke of York has never been one to take advice that doesn’t suit him, and he doesn’t hold back in letting you know what to do with that advice that he doesn’t want to hear.”
Yet another former royal aide who worked for him says: “He’s a deeply unpleasant man. The difference you see between him and the way Prince William and the Prince of Wales treat their staff with respect, straight out of the Queen’s handbook, is stark.”
(...)
A royal source who knows Andrew believes he has limited options: “No business or brand in the country would touch him. He should go and manage one of the royal estates, or do something within the royal set-up that provides him with an entirely private role. He has to come to terms with a position as a private member of the royal family and stop trying to get back what he once had. He has to embrace a different role for the rest of his life. That will probably crush him, but he has to come to terms with it.”
