Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor : Why did the Queen protect him & was she complicit?

[SpottyAardvark]

Queen Elizabeth was very well aware of the seriousness of the allegations against Andrew, and of the testimony of his victim. She very likely knew there were more allegations against him by more victims. Yet she still protected him. She refused to take any action, other than bailing him out by paying paid out millions of pounds to settle legal claims against him by his victim.

Queen Elizabeth was part of the culture of denial & cover-up of serious crimes. Is this a serious stain on her reputation as monarch, and should there now be an enquiry into what she knew, and when, before we start putting up statues to this woman?

They don't know they are in luxury as they have never not been.
Spending your day doing ultra boring things minute after minute, year after year.
At least if you're a spare you have a chance to work a bit and marry of choice (so long as no dodgy background)

George can abdicate when William dies, if he wants.

This is another thing that annoys me about the royals (apologies for another rant!).

The propaganda that it's a dreadful life, a cage etc etc. I'm sure it is in many ways, but isn't that even more of an argument to abolish it?

Why keep dooming generation after generation to it? If Royalists care so much about the royal children then surely it's in their best interests to abolish the monarchy and let them live as private individuals - with all the freedom of choice that entails.

The future king / queen are groomed from birth. They are told they have no choice, country will die without them, all the buildings will get pulled down without them, all the jobs lost etc etc. There's no way they can't believe it and walk away.
Look at how it was kept secret when W got covid as thought it might destabilise us. As if.
Even Harry says he still believes in the monarchy

I get why the royals themselves believe it, I meant more the supporters who use the argument about how awful a job it is really, but are still happy to support it - thus dooming the royal children they claim to be fans of to the same fate. Let's face it, non of the current lot seem to be particularly happy and look at the outcomes the royal upbringing has had on members like Andrew (to bring the thread back on topic!).

It's the Schroedinger's Queen argument again (simultaneously an experienced, well informed on all sorts of obscure topics, source of wisdom to numerous PMs whilst also being a little old lady who couldn't possibly have heard the rumours about her son). We should respect the royal family for the tough job they do representing us, they have no freedom, the work is boring etc whilst simultaneously thinking it should continue so poor George etc also has to live that life.

I always feel sorry for the children when I see them paraded at events. Such a gilded cage

QE2 has a lot to answer for. She knew what her son was like decades ago but she covered for him
Royalists bleat on about her being old, not fair to her etc but from what I've read he has always been a total nightmare.

I think of the RF as rich hoarders.

Stamp collection worth £100m, Fabergé eggs, an art collection worth close on £1billion and of course the jewels
The public don't get to see more or less any of it and when a royal fancies a different painting in one of the palaces they just go to the art collection and pick one.

The art is held in trust by the King for the nation. We are told. What bollocks. £90 to go to Buck House during two months of the year where you get 5 minutes looking at paintings that probably account for 0.1% of the collection. No Rubens, Monet, Cannaletto, Titian's.
It is truly disgusting

I do too. Really it’s time to end this nonsense. Poor George.

He’s old enough to take part

Well, spending a couple of hours some days doing ultra boring things….

Is it a cage or is that another myth? They can do anything or meet anyone. Life is beautiful. No money issues, health issues taken care of 24/7 by the best doctors. You can learn to fly, learn about sailing, management of people via military training. Any or most Universities are open to you and most schools. Margaret didn't opt out and enjoyed all the trappings without responsibility altho her son became a bespoke carpenter. Even Andrews daughters have done ok. Married well, holidayed relentlessly. Some things are a constant that you might not be able to control eg failed marriages but the everyday stuff just isn't there. Anthony Armstrong Jones doesn't use a saw anymore I noticed. Works for Christies in an executive role

With constant security. Friends looked into to see if suitable, not allowed to date who you want, body scrutinised by doctors and the public, clothes dissected. Can't travel with family, have to make appts to see parents. They don't know they're rich because they have never seen or experienced anything else so is normal. What they will see is other rich people who don't have the restrictions they have

Glass half full imo and it's a beautiful lead crystal one. I'm sure the exit door is always open and their friends are usually the right sort. I'll try the job for a few years at the appropriate level of pay and let you know.

“They don’t know they’re rich”?? So they’re stupid?

It's just their life, they don't know different and everyone they associate with lives a similar life in terms of affluence, perhaps a professional career, schools etc

I did wonder that...
Surely they realise they are at the very top of the tree as far as wealth and privilege. They must look down and observe surely ..

One thing I envy above all else is their access to the very best healthcare, probably in the world
Imagine never having to worry about anything to do with their bodies
I say this as close family wait and wait and wait for doctor, hospital appointments and all the stress and worry that goes with that

Then of course the everyday stuff we all experience, never having to sit in a traffic jam or be late anywhere, always feeling protected, the best seats everywhere, the holidays at the best in the world
And fancy having the most beautiful woods, forests, lakes, streams, rivers, wildlife when you open your door at one of your many royal estates or indeed your home

All we ask is that you work for this unquantifiable privilege

Or did her mother just fall in love? Mind you I’d not have married DH if he’d be in line for the throne. (Arranged marriage so not really relevant but my point stands, I’d have told my parents to find me an alternative!).

Kate met William at uni - a pretty natural place to meet. What would a woman have to do to have not “actively sought it out” - in your eyes @Ukisgaslit ?

I don't believe she sought it out. I do actually think their relationship was genuine. I think she was willing to take it on and it's difficult to find somebody to marry if you're in line to throne

I have a hazy recollection that they split up after uni and then got back together. which I always vaguely thought was to do with Kate deciding if she could cope with being in the Royal Family long term.

So you definitely think they’re stupid.Fair enough.

I neither said/nor implied that that. I made an observation.

I think it's incredibly insulting to refer to royal engagements as 'boring'. They're meeting some of the most talented, innovative, selfless, dedicated and hardworking people this country has to offer, talking to them can never be any less than fascinating and a massive privilege.

Good grief, imagine being someone who (I'm going to make this up but it's representative of the sort of thing the royals attend) worked every spare second to start a youth group that halved the number of stabbings in the area. Now someone royal is going to come and meet you and open your refurbished centre that you'd spent months sorting out funding for while still running a full programme of activities and staying for hours at the end for kids needing to talk about their problems then following it up to make sure they're okay while still having a family, full time job etc - and this meeting and grand opening is dismissed as boring. It's so unkind.

I completely agree with you; but it only just occurred to me with the stamp collection: how extremely weird must it seem to be amassing all of the stamps by way of your hobby when they actually feature your family member(s) on them all?!