Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta speaks with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at the Centennial Commemorative Gala for Naval Aviation at the National Building Museum on December 1, 2011 in Washington D.C. Secretary Panetta spoke of the leadership and valor that naval aviators from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have shown over the last 100 years. (DOD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo) (RELEASED)
In The Spectator, Alexander Larman suggests that it’s time for King Charles to cut ties with his brother, Prince Andrew, over revelations of the Prince’s close ties to convicted pedophile and presumed blackmailer Jeffrey Epstein. Larman writes:
During the eighteen months or so that King Charles has reigned in Britain, there is a great deal to commend him for. Two confidently delivered King’s speeches at Christmas; a genuine interest at dealing with his subjects that far exceeds the often rote “Have you come far?” formalism of his mother. There has even been a compassionate hand extended to his troublesome younger son — although this seems an uncertain and unhappy state of affairs, given Prince Harry’s volatility and near-obsession with court cases.
Yet there is one area in which King Charles might be commended on a personal level but deserves criticism in his role as monarch: his continued loyalty to his disgraced younger brother Prince Andrew. The revelations in the Epstein files may have been embarrassing rather than catastrophic for the Duke of York, but they are a reminder that the “playboy prince” was keeping louche company that a member of the monarchy should have known far better than to consort with. It has also brought home that this is a scandal that will continue to cause reputational damage both to Andrew and to the wider British royal family.
It is surely time that the King should distance himself from the duke, both publicly and privately. This would show Charles to be a new kind of monarch, principled and prepared to act decisively when he needs to.
Read more here.
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