The British royalty’s modern history is a meandering march of scandals. The century since Elizabeth’s birth has seen the house of Windsor embroiled in an abdication, a series of extramarital affairs, several instances of casual racism, bribery charges, and ‘the battle of the Waleses’ that ended in a fatal car crash. The latest to join the family’s hall of infamy is the third of her four children, Andrew. Days before the posthumous publication of a memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who had accused the prince of sexual abuse, the 65-year-old father of two gave up his royal titles and honours last week. That it took more than a decade of her initial accusation, six years since his mother stripped him of public duties, and three years since he settled Giuffre’s case out of court is testament to the royal obsession with optics over propriety.
Evidently, the Firm—as Elizabeth’s father first called the business of monarchy—has been unable to shake off Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted child trafficker who died behind bars, and his close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned daughter of a British newspaper magnate. The publication of Andrew Lownie’s unflattering book two months ago did not help. However, what made Andrew’s clumsy attempts to distance himself from Epstein altogether impossible is the release of the American financier’s private jet’s flight logs that showed several trips together.
Royalists questioned whether the prince could maintain the Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion southwest of Heathrow leased to him by the Crown Estate, after paying Giuffre an estimated $12 million to settle the case. Documents made public recently show how little Andrew is required to pay through most of the 75-year-old lease after a substantial sum was paid upfront in the 2000s. It’s clear that though British MPs are piling pressure on their government to formally strip Andrew of all royal titles, there is little appetite to see the monarchy go. They would do well to keep an eye on the massive ‘No kings’ protests happening across the US— aimed at Trump’s tyranny, but termed to reinforce republicanism. They would also do well to read Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, that’s out on stands Tuesday. Maybe there will be more gritted teeth behind stiff upper lips.
