Prince Andrew, Duke of York current events 7: July 2011

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Osipi

<< retreats the the corner where the coffee and doughnuts are.

ARe they Voodoo donuts?

[Zonk]

Okay Okay....discussion about any name that Charles might reign under should be made here The Monarchy under Charles

[Mirabel]

So now the press is insisting that William and Kate should be trade ambassadors, predicated on the success of their recent tour.

Where does that leave Andrew? The press says he won't be affected, but I wonder?

William and Kate to become British business ambassadors - Telegraph

[NotAPretender]

The article about Andrew's doubling of his travel costs can be found here:

http://nemdil.com/magazine/index.php...y-sidi-nemdil/

Excerpt:

Duke of York Prince Andrew doubles his travel bill By Steve Doughty
Last updated at 1:31 AM on 5th July 2011

The Duke of York more than doubled his spending of public money on foreign trips to promote British business, it emerged yesterday.

Prince Andrew, dubbed Airmiles Andy for his lavish travel bill, racked up £358,763 in journeys to Asia and the Middle East.

One trade trip took in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain just months before the Gulf state was engulfed in unrest and rioting against its rulers in which at least 30 people are said to have died.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by NotAPretender

Prince Andrew, dubbed Airmiles Andy for his lavish travel bill, racked up £358,763 in journeys to Asia and the Middle East.

One trade trip took in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain just months before the Gulf state was engulfed in unrest and rioting against its rulers in which at least 30 people are said to have died.

Really, he doesn't show any good judgment at all! Doesn't he realize that as long as the press is gunning for him, he'd better be extremely cautious about his expenses?

[NGalitzine]

Originally Posted by Mirabel

Really, he doesn't show any good judgment at all! Doesn't he realize that as long as the press is gunning for him, he'd better be extremely cautious about his expenses?

Its not like he is the one that determines where he travels and who he visits in his role as UK Trade Representative. These are not holidays they are business trips.

[Mermaid1962]

This is true; however, I wonder why the cost went up so much? Is he working more? I'm not one to begrudge spending money that benefits the UK in the long run, nor do I mind the use of a helicopter for short trips due to scheduling or security reasons.

[Meadow]

Part of the problem seems to be he always goes visits friends etc or plays golf on some of these trips and uses the plane or helicopter etc to get there. He also seems to be going back to a lot of the same places where he happens to have a lot of friends that is why I think it is being questioned so much. I wonder how they work out a successful trip with his line of work? Also last year a bad one for him with the Jeffrey Epstein rumours and he was supposed to be having a lower profile. The Queen is cutting costs but Andrew is running up higher bills. His use of the helicopter has been questioned in the past and will continue to be if his bills keep getting higher. It seems the press don't think he is giving good value for the money.

[Diarist]

Several MPs have for some time now been raising concerns that many of Andrew's current royal duties actually involve a conflict of interest, because they seem to dovetail so much with his own personal life. It has always been an unwritten rule that Royals tend to be allocated duties according to their talents and their interests [The Duke of Gloucester at one stage seemed to be carrying out engagements with a heavy emphasis on the Built Environment (he is an Architect by profession), The Prince of Wales has undertaken a lot of work on farming, the environment etc etc, Princess Diana 'cornered the market' for 'caring and sharing' and 'young children' roles etc]. But in these cases, Royal Aides always seem to manage / managed to keep any suggestion of 'personal profit' from 'intruding into the particular royal engagement'. I do wonder whether Prince Andrew is well-served by his own staff when it comes to arranging his programme - you never find this sort of problem with the Queen, do you? She adores horses and racing etc, but these interests only form a small proportion of her royal activities.

Just my thoughts

Alex

[Renata4711]

Just heard on the BBC Breakfast news that Andrew is no longer to be representing Britain abroad. The announcer surmised that this move would ensure that he will be separated from "unsuitable friends".

Apparently he is to look after apprenticeships.

An official announcement will be made in a few days.

[Mermaid1962]

Richard Kay also has this information in his Daily Mail column. So two sources have mentioned this now. This makes it more believable IMO.

Originally Posted by Renata4711

Just heard on the BBC Breakfast news that Andrew is no longer to be representing Britain abroad.

[Meadow]

Not exactly a huge surprise especially with the latest account of his travel expenses. Hopefully he will quietly go about his work without any of the scandals and accusations that have shadowed him. I wonder who will take over? It doesn't look good for him though, if it's true and it sounds like it is.

[Renata4711]

Yes, it makes it more likely.... although, what Andrew knows about Modern Apprenticeships, can probably fit on a second-class postage stamp... :-)

[Mermaid1962]

There was a rumor floated recently that the Cambridges would take over the role. I don't see them doing it now, because William has his search and rescue position to finish. But after that, I can see it happening on their visits to non-Commonwealth countries--like when they had their visit with the BAFTA people in Los Angeles.

Originally Posted by Meadow

Not exactly a huge surprise especially with the latest account of his travel expenses. Hopefully he will quietly go about his work without any of the scandals and accusations that have shadowed him. I wonder who will take over?

[muriel]

Prince Andrew steps down as trade envoy - FT.com

Prince Andrew steps down as trade envoy

[Diarist]

I am not surprised by this news - the timing and manner seems to reflect current Royal practice [and contemporary political and business practice come to that, and even romances!]. The procedure seems to be something like this:

Stage 1. Scandal breaks

Stage 2. Royal family / Company CEO/ Political Party leader / Celebrity Spouse of the 'supposed love cheat' / all affirm their support for the scandal-hit person. There are sometimes even declarations of support for the scandal-hit person: 'He has our full confidence' / 'He will still continue in his role as Special Representative / We are very much in love and there is no truth in the allegation that my spouse was seen out in the company of a new lover etc etc [delete which is not applicable.]

Stage 3: a 'decent' interval elapses.

Stage 4. Formal Annoucnement of 'stepping down' / political resignation / Celebrity divorce etc.

It seems to happen this way every single time.

As soon as BP announced support for the Duke of York [i.e stage 2!!] you could just tell it was only a matter of weeks before he fell on his sword.

The problem with Andrew is that he appeared to reach his peak in his very early twenties: Regarded as serving in the Navy with distinction during the Falklands War, and at his most handsome [he now looks both overweight and gray - neither of which are crimes, I might point out] he now seems to be in decline.

Only my thoughts, which as I always say, are not meant to offend.

Alex

[Meadow]

Does this happen as of now or does he have more engagements to fulfill in this role? I thought they usually got booked months in advance? Or if it happened like you say they may off stopped booking him for engagements in that role awhile ago do you think? Sorry for the questions? I hope he does better in his new role he will need to be careful because he will be watched very carefully after all this. You are right his early twenties were his time he seems older then he is. But if he lost weight and did something with his hair it would take years off. He may lose weight now not so many big dinners!

[fascinator]

Originally Posted by Diarist

The problem with Andrew is that he appeared to reach his peak in his very early twenties: Regarded as serving in the Navy with distinction during the Falklands War, and at his most handsome [he now looks both overweight and gray - neither of which are crimes, I might point out] he now seems to be in decline.

Only my thoughts, which as I always say, are not meant to offend.

Poor guy.

Well, outside of his appearance, he and Fergie share a marked tendency towards poor judgement. I hope this development isn't too hard on his girls.

[Diarist]

Not sure at this stage Meadow: we'll have to wait for the formal annoucement.

You are certainly right that enagements are arranged some time in advance; arrangements that involve travel abroad are always a bit more flexible in case of natural disaster / political upheaval etc, otherwise cancellation of ANY royal enagement is very rare. [most usual reason over the years for cancellation has been illness of the particular 'performing royal' [dear Princess Margaret seemed to have a lot of 'off-days' particularly if the Engagement looked 'boring'] or bereavement.

If you want me to take a guess - and it is a guess, then I reckon that when the scandal first broke [about 3 months ago] I expect that at that time nothing new was pencilled into the Duke's diary. [Normally they would be 'booking things' up to 12 - 18 months in advance.] I would imagine that Andrew will fulfil his existing committments and then it depends what happens to the role - I can't think a 'new' royal will be found to replace him i.e. someone who will take over the job, which first began with the Duke of Kent. Andrew's role will probably therefore be downgraded and will be renamed and Royal Aides and the Government will presumably take care to make sure that any new duties he carries out for the UK are kept separate from Andrew's own 'private' interests.

Just my thoughts - and we will have to wait and see.

Alex

[Meadow]

Thanks for that! It will be interesting to see what happens.