The Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein Controversy 1: 2010-2022

[Zaira]

All this means is that he will quietly slither back in probably in the Spring once the furor has died down.

I hope all of his patronages continue to announce they are disassociating with him regardless of this announcement.

I also wonder what more info is poised to come out...

 

[suztav]

Wow! I understand this decision was necessary, but I hope it doesn’t negatively affect Beatrice’s wedding plans. She shouldn’t be collateral damage for her father’s poor decision making.

 

[Muhler]

As others have pointed out, probably the best solution, considering the circumstances.

It does raise some questions IMO:

Was it the very poorly handled interview that was, so to speak, the reason behind this decision?
Or do the BRF fear that more, and more incriminating, things will surface?
Did someone higher up in BRF hierarchy pull the plug on Andrew? In which case who? QEII? Charles? Family council? "Advise" from the government?
IMO I doubt Andrew himself would have taken this step on his own accord.

"Foreseeable future" suggest to me either a backdoor for Andrew to slowly return in expectation that this will blow over or, more ominously, a "face-saving phrase". I.e. he is finished as a working member of the BRF. But hasn't admit guilt or responsibility.

Does Andrew "retiring out" mean that further serious investigations into his conduct will be quietly put on hold? In other words: It's a deal: Andrew is out, in return the BRF is spared an "official" scandal.

That Andrew says he will continue to co-operate with the authorities in regards to investigations is not something I will put particular emphasis on. He can't say anything else.

Of course all this means that in the public view, and also in my eyes, Andrew having knowingly misbehaved so to speak, will go from a possibility to probably (or worse...)

 

[rmay286]

Wow! I understand this decision was necessary, but I hope it doesn’t negatively affect Beatrice’s wedding plans. She shouldn’t be collateral damage for her father’s poor decision making.

Maybe he had Beatrice in mind when he made this decision. This cannot be easy for Beatrice and Eugenie. It might be easier for Beatrice now in the run-up to her wedding if her father is not in the public eye.

 

[ACO]

It needed to be done.

 

[hel]

I have a strong suspicion that the discussion of the royal family within the election's leaders debate may have contributed to the decision.

 

[Ista]

It was the right decision, but the cynical part of me wonders how and by whom the decision was made, if even now Andrew gets why the interview was a disaster, and how quickly he'll come slinking back.

 

[TLLK]

I have a strong suspicion that the discussion of the royal family within the election's leaders debate may have contributed to the decision.

Good point hel.


This was the appropriate step to take.

 

[Nico]

A good decision ... at last !

 

[tausi]

What was surprising to me was how ill prepared he seemed doing the interview, stumbling over questions, seeming to have no good answers to a couple of questions anyone should have known were coming, his overall demeanour, his seeming lack of consideration for the victims.. I could go on.

[...]

They need to hire an experienced Pitt bull and give him/her the authority to clean house. Everyone’s PR team ultimately reports to the Pitt bull, the Pitt bull reports directly to the Queen or The PoW. If anyone even looks sideways at the media without it being cleared by the the Pitt Bull, that person’s PR team is fired and the disobedient royal in question is now the direct responsibility of, you guessed it, the Pitt bull and their team. If the royal doesn’t like being put on a short leash? There’s the door.

I agree with you 100%. They need to consolidate the PR efforts and have one person in charge who has authority to say NO and fire individual PR as needed.

 

[crm2317]

I feel like this is the right decision. He and the Queen had a responsibility to read the mood of the country and respond appropriately.

I sincerely hope that this doesn’t effect Beatrice and Eugenie and that they continue with charities, garden parties and Trooping etc.

 

[Andy T]

I have a strong suspicion that the discussion of the royal family within the election's leaders debate may have contributed to the decision.

You're probably right. He had left himself with no other options at this stage, really, and given that his rôle within 'the firm' is highly likely to become significantly lesser once his brother ascends the throne, I doubt if he'll ever figure much in the future. Early retirement beckons methinks.



Nonetheless, I find it highly ironic (and quite hard to understand) that large chunks of the same media that is fanning the flames of outrage is merrily supporting a proven liar and philanderer in his campaign for power in the UK.

 

[Lee27]

I think Prince Andrew showed in his interview how out of step some members of the RF are. I missed why he gave the interview in the first place. But he was clearly unprepared and uncomfortable.
The lure of rich and powerful people can affect even a prince. Jeffrey Einstein was rich and powerful.
The prince should have ended all contact after the first conviction.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Its been a PR disaster for the Palace and has gone on too long ,this decision should have come sooner .

 

[Lumutqueen]

Wow! I understand this decision was necessary, but I hope it doesn’t negatively affect Beatrice’s wedding plans. She shouldn’t be collateral damage for her father’s poor decision making.

I agree, I think this decision has been done to save what they can.

As others have pointed out, probably the best solution, considering the circumstances.



It does raise some questions IMO:



Was it the very poorly handled interview that was, so to speak, the reason behind this decision?

Or do the BRF fear that more, and more incriminating, things will surface?

Did someone higher up in BRF hierarchy pull the plug on Andrew? In which case who? QEII? Charles? Family council? "Advise" from the government?

IMO I doubt Andrew himself would have taken this step on his own accord.

I 100% think the interview is the only reason Andrew is stepping back. He shouldn’t have done the interview to start with, he wanted it as his clear the air announcement but he just made things worse.

I have no doubt that Charles and other members of the RF have had a hand in this decision.

 

[Blog Real]

I was surprised, but it was the best decision without a doubt.
This decision must have come from the Queen and Prince Charles, and the Duke of York was forced to accept to protect the Royal Family and ultimately the monarchy.
I want to believe that the Duke of York is innocent and this will all be resolved.

 

[Madame Verseau]

I think a come to Jesus meeting happened at Buckingham Palace with Andrew, the queen, Charles (via Skype ?) and government officials. The queen and Charles came for Andrew for dragging the House of Windsor through the mud; the government for potentially damaging diplomatic relations with the U.S. and France over this mess. Andrew's promise to cooperate - until he is on American and French soils speaking to their prosecutors it's an empty promise.

It's still early to tell if the BRF can come back from this. This is not a run of the mill cheating scandal. The investigations will go on.

 

[Elly C]

The fall out following the interview has been so bad that it soon became apparent that this was the only damage limitation option available. I’d love to know who made the decision-certainly not Andrew whose self delusion was only too evident during the interview.
Although I wish Beatrice well in her forthcoming nuptials, in the interests of the greater good, I feel a small private wedding is appropriate.

 

[sophie25]

I think this is why we don't officially know yet what Beatrice's wedding plans will be. I think for the past couple of months the Yorks have been watching to see if the Epstein saga would die down enough for a public wedding to be feesable. I think we know the answer to that one now.

 

[sndral]

I agree . It is clearly a witch hunt.

So far I have not seen any evidence that Andrew has lied about being at a pizza express party at the time when Virginia alleges they were together. Yet, everybody here assumes he is guilty of having sex with a trafficked minor.
...

Andrew offered several easily disproven reasons why he could not have had sex with the 17 year old, I wouldn’t call it a witch hunt for the press to publish evidence disproving Andrew’s claims. Andrew’s alibi was that he took Beatrice to the pizza party in the afternoon and after that he was home with the children - so proving that he was at a pizza party earlier in the day would not provide an alibi for that night.

...
I have no doubt that Charles and other members of the RF have had a hand in this decision.

Charles is thousands of miles away in New Zealand - but I assume there were phone calls. We’ll never know, but I too am curious about the dynamics - was William involved, Edward, Anne, Phillip?

 

[Somebody]

I 100% think the interview is the only reason Andrew is stepping back. He shouldn’t have done the interview to start with, he wanted it as his clear the air announcement but he just made things worse.

I have no doubt that Charles and other members of the RF have had a hand in this decision.

I fully agree. All of this is exactly why his new PR guy suggested doing a lengthy written interview in a few months, in that way all of this could have been avoided - as everything that would be written down, could have been fully vetted before publication.

And we'll have to wait and see how long the 'foreseeable future' will last. If it is into Charles reign, I am quite sure he won't be back at all (other than at events that also non-senior full-time working members of the firm attend).

 

[TortillaChips]

I think this is why we don't officially know yet what Beatrice's wedding plans will be. I think for the past couple of months the Yorks have been watching to see if the Epstein saga would die down enough for a public wedding to be feesable. I think we know the answer to that one now.

Sadly I agree - I loved watching Eugenie's wedding and was very surprised and pleased how much we got to see and had hoped that the same would happen with Beatrice's wedding. Think it's such a shame that the children have to suffer for what their parents have done.

I know this is completely a cloud cuckoo land scenario but maybe The Prince of Wales could step in like he did for the Sussex wedding ?

 

[Somebody]

Beatrice still has a father; and there is no reason he should not fulfill that role on his daughter's wedding. He resigned from royal duties not from fatherly duties...

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I think a come to Jesus meeting happened at Buckingham Palace with Andrew, the queen, Charles (via Skype ?) and government officials. The queen and Charles came for Andrew for dragging the House of Windsor through the mud; the government for potentially damaging diplomatic relations with the U.S. and France over this mess. Andrew's promise to cooperate - until he is on American and French soils speaking to their prosecutors it's an empty promise.

It's still early to tell if the BRF can come back from this. This is not a run of the mill cheating scandal. The investigations will go on.

I've been following the BRF since I was about 10...more years than I will admit.

It's not IF they can come back from this...they can and they will.

Bet on it.

 

[Osipi]

Pride goes before a fall and Andrew was at the edge of a cliff.

To me, its sad to actually watch the downfall of someone mostly through ego, arrogance and sheer stupidity in not seeing oneself clearly. Before signing off and getting some sleep, the last thing I read was an email from a friend that announced that Andrew wants a "do over" interview and wake up to the official announcement that Andrew is stepping out of the public eye for the "foreseeable future". The man, wanting a "do over" wasn't thinking clearly or didn't see his previous interview for the fiasco it was. My first thought was "yeps... good idea Andrew. Get Piers Morgan this time That's the ticket". This tells me that someone grabbed the reins and *told* Andrew what was to happen next. Enough is enough.

I feel for Andrew at this time but cannot excuse what has gotten him to this point. This is without even throwing in what he may have actually *done* in his relationship with Epstein and Maxwell. That's a totally different kettle of fish to me now and is separate from my opinion of Andrew as a public figure, a member of the British Royal Family and even as a man.

As more and more organizations and charities were assessing their involvement and withdrawing their support of Andrew's incentives, that was the handwriting on the wall that Andrew and his behavior and demeanor are found wanting and questionable. Its not a "witch hunt" when people see a man's true colors and want nothing to do with him.

I would also think that perhaps Amanda Thirsk is clearing out her desk as she's become redundant to Andrew. This would also mean that Pitch@Palace is being dismantled (if there is actually anything left to dismantle). I feel for the many people that Pitch@Palace could have sincerely helped get ahead in the world and now will lose that opportunity.

Will Andrew talk to the investigators? I have no idea but the wording in the "official statement" do not ring true to me as coming from Andrew's mouth. Someone has carefully worded that for him. If he had felt any kind of remorse, guilt or sympathy for the victims of Epstein's perversions, it would have shone through in the first interview. It didn't.

I still believe Andrew should have stayed silent and thought the bumbling idiot, egocentric and arrogant prince by popular opinion than to open his mouth and actually remove all doubt about his character and the person he really is.

Maybe Andrew can go and lay low for a while with his friend Ghislaine Maxwell. I'm sure she'd appreciate his company.

I've been following the BRF since I was about 10...more years than I will admit.

It's not IF they can come back from this...they can and they will.

Bet on it.

The "Firm" and the monarchy has survived much worse than an arrogant prince with a high opinion of himself. None of what Andrew has done (or not done) damages the perception I hold of the Queen and her "Firm" and monarchy. My heart does go out to her as she probably has the worse kind of heartbreak seeing her second son go through all this. I'm willing to bet that it could be said that the Queen has "all the right stuff" and has done the right thing both as a Queen and as a mother.

 

[ACO]

Beatrice still has a father; and their is no reason he should not fulfil that role on his daughter's wedding. He resigned from royal duties not from fatherly duties...

Agreed. Her wedding will go one. The only difference will be how public it will be. I seriously doubt she will get what Eugenie got but we shall see.

Back to Andrew. This is from Max Foster.

Royal source: The Duke of York took the decision to step back from public duties following discussion with The Queen, Prince of Wales and others. The source says the decision is for the best - nothing is more important to any of the family than the institution itself.

I think most suspected something like this likely occurred.

 

[carlota]

unexpected move the 'temporary resignation', yet not quite. some months go the palace said that “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”. this resignation by andrew seems to change the picture 180 degrees. why would that happen?

as awkward as the interview was, i have to admit a part of me still believes andrew. virginia roberts said that 'Ghislaine tells me in the car that I have to do what I do for Jeffrey for Prince Andrew'. would andrew, in his right mind knowing who he is, have gotten into a situation of forcing a girl to have sex with him? it sounds like a totally dumb thing to do for someone as known as andrew.

on the other hand, it is obvious that jeffrey was involved in shady business - otherwise he wouldn't have committed suicide. he knew what was coming his way. so i do not question that virginia may have been trafficked to others given her involvement with jeffrey. but a part of me doubts whether andrew would have been that dumb as to get involved in such shady activities. maybe he simply thought virginia liked him and wasn't told the full story about her? i cannot explain this otherwise. it seems like an extremely dumb thing to do.

i wonder how long his 'hiatus' will be for, as it sounded in the press note that this was a temporary thing. wonder if that is just a polite way to phrase this and whether effectively it means permanent removal from court. it may well be a temporary thing - let's not forget that in 2011, andrew quit his role as UK trade envoy after the fallout from the Central Park photos.

i can see a smaller, more intimate wedding for beatrice in light of this.

 

[rmay286]

Agreed. Her wedding will go one. The only difference will be how public it will be. I seriously doubt she will get what Eugenie got but we shall see.

It is a shame for Beatrice that this scandal happened, especially happened when it did. It means that one daughter gets the public, "royal" wedding that the older daughter might never get.

Now anything to do with Beatrice's wedding and wedding planning will be tinged with commentary about Andrew's troubles...even though he has stepped down.

I hope Beatrice has a happy wedding day anyway, but it's hard to see how she will have as public a wedding as Eugenie.

 

[Muhler]

Agreed. Her wedding will go one. The only difference will be how public it will be. I seriously doubt she will get what Eugenie got but we shall see.

Back to Andrew. This is from Max Foster.

Royal source: The Duke of York took the decision to step back from public duties following discussion with The Queen, Prince of Wales and others. The source says the decision is for the best - nothing is more important to any of the family than the institution itself.

I think most suspected something like this likely occurred.

Hardly surprising.

Of course QEII would have been involved in such a drastic step and Charles too considering his position.
Either okaying a decision Andrew made.
Or telling him to "go home and tend to his garden."

And naturally other members of the BRF will support this decision. There is nothing else they can do in the circumstances.
What will be interesting is what other senior members of the BRF will say, and how...
If they all stick to a standard reply and say nothing else, that suggest to me that there has been a major family-tam-tam, where the guidelines were laid out (read: dictated) for the more junior members of the BRF.
However if someone utters something that deviate just a little from this, then it may be an indication as to whether this is an attempt of a temporary damage control or whether Andrew is put on grass for good.

But I agree with another poster: The BRF will survive this. This is merely one family member making a poor spectacle of himself, not the BRF as a whole. That has happened before and it will happen again.
A major crisis was the aftermath of Diana's death.
This is just an irritant that will eventually pass once Andrew is out of sight and out of mind.

 

[Curryong]

I think this had to be done once charity sponsors and others involved with Andrew's public life began expressing reservations about working with Andrew. I tend to think he was pushed, rather than took this decision himself for the sake of the Firm, and hope this is permanent. Don't want to see Andrew come sliding back in five or six months.