Royal expert pinpoints King and William clue as Andrew loses titles | Royal | News
A leading royal expert has spoken out about the “extreme pressure” Prince Andrew will face before publicly announcing he will no longer use his remaining royal titles. Buckingham Palace announced on Friday evening that the Prince will lose the title of Duke of York and the right to hold key roles such as Knight of the Garter.
Appearing on Sky News shortly after the news broke, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said: “It has become untenable for the situation to continue as it is. As Andrew noted in his statement, distracting headlines every day distract from the work the Royal Family does.”
As Ms Bond explained further what surprised her about the announcement, she mentioned key members of the Royal Family who would be pushing for the Prince to lose his remaining titles and roles.
Ms Bond said: “I was struck by the use of the pronoun ‘we’. ‘The King, my family and my immediate family have concluded that the ongoing allegations against me are a distraction from His Majesty’s work.’
“He then uses the word ‘we’ again. This is a clear indication that undue pressure is being put on Prince Andrew to do ‘the decent thing’ and fall on his sword, so to speak.”
“If it hadn’t fallen on this sword, it would have been pushed very firmly into it.
“I think there were some very pointed words in the background between Charles and William pressuring Andrew to do the ‘right thing’.”
In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday evening, Prince Andrew said: “In discussions with the King and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded that the ongoing allegations against me are a distraction from the work of Her Majesty and the Royal Family.
“As always, I decided to put my duty to my family and my country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stay away from public life.
“We think that, with His Majesty’s approval, I should now go one step further. Therefore, I will no longer use my title or the honors bestowed upon me. “As I said before, I strongly deny the accusations against me.”
The most notable scandal for the 65-year-old, who stepped down from royal duties in 2019, was her relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Reports have also recently emerged that Andrew lied about the time he cut contact with Epstein, and further details of his alleged dealings with a Chinese spy have made headlines.
