To feel sorry for the fake admiral

Obviously I'm not saying that because if you know how the Forces actually works you will know not everybody gets promoted to VSO level.

I'm not going to wade through the Gazette but I'd expect there will have been some fast movers in his peer group who will have made the rank.

No, the regiments decide. The monarch does not tell a regiment that they must appoint, say, Anne as Colonel-in-Chief or similar honorary roles. That is entirely a matter for the regiment. The monarch's only involvement when a royal is promoted through the ranks as opposed to being appointed to an honorary role, e.g. Andrew's promotion to Vice-Admiral. When a royal is promoted, that is a decision for the relevant service (army, navy or air force) but the promotion must be approved by the monarch. So the Queen could, and perhaps should, have blocked Andrew's promotion to Vice-Admiral, but it was the Royal Navy that wanted to promote him. She did not ask for him to be promoted, much less decide unilaterally to promote him.

We know the Windsors knew about Andrew’s behaviour as a ‘trade envoy’ and they knew all about his links with Epstein but they still awarded him Vice Admiral .

But @prh47bridge says the forces ask for these appointments?

@notimagain

So are you saying that all of Andrew’s peers also became Vice Admirals in 2015?

https://www.forcesnews.com/royals/royal-duchies-reportedly-earn-millions-military-rental-deals

@Catsknowbest

Go ahead.
And I will continue to post as I see fit so I don’t see why you felt the need to comment on my posting history - but hey ho it doesn’t bother me so I won’t report you .

@CathyorClaire how could I forget about the fact that Charles and William skim funds from the very regiments they also require allegiance from !
I would have thought that such behaviour would bother you as a forces wife @Catsknowbest . No? Not bothered ?

Yes. I'm a disabled veterans wife and if I think you are going to hijack this thread with the same repetitive material as in your own threads and others I will call you out on it. Repeatedly.

All you can see is him in this parade. You do not know what he has been telling people. He may have used his captainship to defraud or manipulate people. We have no idea what he has been doing. He needed exposing because he is lying. Imagine me wearing am authentic police uniform and pushing my way through crowd to join the police in crowd control?! It's lying and defrauding the public. It's encouraging the public to trust you, when they shouldn't.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, Epstein etc A M W was promoted in honorary rank in retirement in the same way it's been done for decades plus for various royals, not because QE II lobbied especially for him.

Once a royal leaves the forces if they maintain honorary status they get promotion in line with the peer group they served with.

"Yes, military units like having royals as Colonel-in-Chief or similar. You may not like it, but it is up to the military what they do. They are not forced to give honorary ranks to members of the royal family."

I suppose it's a bit like celebs getting honorary degrees from the university in their home city and getting to play dress up in the robes that other people have to study and pass exams to earn. It's a bit silly but I can see why it's done.

The whole lot rustle up some six months' FTE between them.

None of them 'work hard'.

As for uniforms and medals: fine on those royals who have earned them. Not fine on those who haven't.

Im laughing at the idea that the Windsors are not seeking promotion and rank but rather the forces are urging it on them …

Same forces getting skimmed by the Duchies...

Legally, in terms of sentencing/fines, it does matter if he hurt someone. It makes a difference if he used the uniform to defraud anyone financially, which could include accessing discounts offered specifically to veterans, etc, or if he passed himself off as an officer to gain employment for a position he was not qualified to do, etc.

If it is discovered that he did not use the uniform for monetary gain, etc, whilst the offence he has caused to those who legitimately served will be considered as a victim impact, his crime will be limited to a breach of the uniform act which will be a fine at most.

If he has been using the uniform in, say, a romance scam, that will be a second offence pertaining to the scam itself, not the uniform if wore to augment it. If he has been involved in financial fraud, that's a different charge again.

Too right I will @Catsknowbest

Does it bother you ?

I see you've popped up again to use yet another thread for your monarchy topic.

@prh47bridge

Also surely the monarch decides who will get the dressing up box and not the regiments as you seem to be implying ?

We have the rather disturbing fact that Elizabeth and now Charles are head of the armed forces .

Troops swear to them not to the country . Just as MPs must do in order to be able to carry out their role as an elected representative.

Ask a veterans widow or widower that question. The harm -and the insult- are very real I assure you.

This is NOT a victimless crime. The victims of this kind of fakery are those who actually served, have life changing injuries and the families of veterans who have been killed in action. It makes a mockery of their right to wear their earned medals and for families to respectfully remember those they have lost. As the wife of a veteran I find these fantasists despicable.

@prh47bridge

Im laughing at the idea that the Windsors are not seeking promotion and rank but rather the forces are urging it on them …

You haven’t addressed the issue of the Windsors ‘agreeing’ -as you see it- to Andrew being awarded vice admiral - in full knowledge of his activities with Epstein .

THAT is offensive .

Yes, military units like having royals as Colonel-in-Chief or similar. You may not like it, but it is up to the military what they do. They are not forced to give honorary ranks to members of the royal family.

Andrew was promoted by the Royal Navy due to the work he had done to support them over the years. Back in 2009, the navy decided to promote him in line with his peers who are still serving because of his continuing contribution. The Queen's only role was to approve the promotion.

Perhaps we should ban the military from giving royals honorary ranks, but that is not where we are at the moment.

And I'm not really sure why you are addressing your comment at me. All I did was confirm that another poster was correct that Anne is Colonel-in-Chief of at least one regiment and filled in a bit more detail.

@prh47bridge

I think we are all aware that Anne is ‘head ‘ of a regiment. Isn’t Camilla also ? And Sophie ? Even Kate ?
That is as ridiculous as the raid on dressing up box

Wasn’t Andrew repeatedly promoted too regardless of ability ?

More importantly the royals promoted Andrew to Vice Admiral in 2015 . They had known about his Epstem related offences for years at that point !

THAT is offensive . Much more so than an individual wearing bought medals

Yes Andrew had his dressing up box removed - but only when we found out . They had no issue awarding him rank in full knowledge of close Epstein links

Whether he hurts someone or not is irrelevant. He’s still wearing a uniform and performing the role laying a wreath, cosplaying a person of rank of which he is not.

No different to him donning a captains uniform, walking on to a Navy vessel and ordering them to set sail or worse.

”The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (City of London Police) recorded 8,792 reports of romance fraud in the latest 12-month period they published, with £94.7m lost and an average loss ≈ £10,774 per victim”.

Lloyd’s bank puts the estimate even higher, and says they’re seeing a 20% rise in romance fraud year on year.

It’s also believed to be one of the most under-reported types of crime due to the sheer embarrassment of the victims, so that number is probably a fraction of the actual number of victims each year.

They obviously don’t all have “mental disorder”. Most of them are just lonely, gullible and not very internet savvy - it’s no coincidence that the most common demographic for romance fraud is people aged 55-64, and that the younger victims tend to have a marked lack of formal education.

I’m sorry about your friends sister, but normal people absolutely do do this all the time. Romance scams are an incredibly common type of fraud.

Security left s lot to be desired?

https://www.racingpost.com/news/spotted-sporting-gatecrasher-richard-melia-back-in-the-spotlight-at-longchamp-aYAkt3u6RCwP/

Walting in another sphere. This prat got warned off. Leading in a big race winner is the perogative of the horse's lass or lad. It's their moment of glory together with the horse, and they shouldn't have that oaf's stupid face centre stage in the leading-in photos and video for ever more.