The Andrew formally known as Prince in jep?

If you cast your minds back to the 90s, the Queen came under considerable pressure to get her finances in order and stop draining the public purse - the public and as a result, the politicians started asking a lot of questions around the RF, given the gaudy stories that were coming out around Fergie/Andy and Charles/Diana separations and subsequent divorces- it was rich people’s problems and the public were fed up with it- and in fairness the Queen did comply and was sensitive to the “optics” of spending public money ever since.

There is every chance that Andy will be hauled in front of the uk public accounts committee (or equivalent)to account for himself and his hanging onto a 30 room mansion that only 2 people live in . I’d say he’d get out fairly lively to avoid that scrutiny 😀

The RF are no longer treated with kit gloves- if they want their big cars and houses and lifestyle then they need to be accountable to their public - that’s what modern royalty has to conform to

OK it’s The Mail - but if true, certainly green shoots of hope he’ll be leaving Royal Lodge - another small victory - at this stage I’d doubt he’ll even get Frogmore Cottage - I’d say royal apartments somewhere so there’s no additional security needed - he can rattle around with what’s left of the elderly royal cousins and reminisce of times past

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-15224357/Prince-Andrew-talks-leave-Royal-Lodge.html

“For someone of Andrews sense of grandeur and self importance having to leave Royal Lodge would be the final humiliation.”

True it will be a humiliation -it will certainly happen -but I don’t think it will be a “final” one- he may well get called to a commons committee to account for finances - or that in itself may push him out the door of royal lodge- either way I reckon there’s more to come some day

I wasn't aware of that but you may be right. Either way as you say it was a monumental act of self destruction.

There are several things that bother even upset me about this case.

He had to give up his military medals? Why? It wasn't a military matter, he did his service, and he wasn't dishonerably discharged. There wasn't anything wrong with his service record? Or was there?

There is no evidence at all. Or is there?

There is just a likelyhood that he didn't "just play cards" in the evenings on that island. Was there even proof that he was even there?

The whole case seems like "woman is always right" and "man is always wrong" in sexual matters, even if there is no evidence. Woman just has to be young enough and shout the loudest or publish a book. Society always believes the woman in such a case, the woman has the right to be upset, the man not…..

Suppose she was 18? and not 17?

Apart from lack of real evidence for a court proceeding one could be arguing easily that it was the wrong company he'd kept and thus dishonored the royal family, - but legally there isn't really much, - a lot of noise a published book, etc…

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind if they take him apart if there was real evidence, but there seems none, at least not in a legal sense.

All true, or to a certain extent.

Looking into his finances wouldn't hurt to get the explanations.

But still, all this has nothing to do with his military service record.

It wasn't that he was raping female officers or groping them, or abusing his military position for sexual favours.

I think his military service record needs to be honored, as long as there is no wrongdoing during that service.

Royals get those medals for being royals.

No way he was in those positions or at those ranks if he had to start out as a regular soldier/sailor/pilot.

“With all this striping of titles and cutting allowances, are the Royal family (tacitly) admitting that Andrew has done something wrong ?”

The Royal Family Firm - the working royals - live or die on the court of public opinion - as Harry has found to his cost, any one member of the Royals is disposable in the quest for keeping the public “happy”-

It doesn’t matter if Uncle Andy is the most popular Uncle around the Christmas dinner table (he’s likely not) or is much loved and cherished by his siblings and their families (equally unlikely)- if his behaviour undermines the work of the RF- that’s it, he’s gone.

Leaving aside the sexual encounters with Virginia even, his dubious money dealings alone whilst carrying out official royal work - coupled with his association with a known pedo and multiple international dubious financial gangsters was certainly enough to question his position .

No-one knows if these allegations are true, but his very clear arrogance and sense of entitlement his whole life , in every aspect of his life, has essentially caught up with him - the story “makes sense” - the timelines make sense, even with a pizza party in Woking .

Even if that particular instance of a sexual encounter didn’t happen, does Andrew actually have a reputation to fight for?