To wonder (as an Aussie) if Prince Andy will bring down the British monarchy ?

[Lavenderfarmcottage]

As an Aussie, I’m wondering what the sentiment is in the UK ? The news about Andrew is shocking obviously but do British people really hold it against the royals ?

I can’t articulate why but I feel less enchanted by the royals even Catherine and William since the storm began.

I feel a sadness over Virginia Giuffre. I know that the royals have expressed their support for the victims but it seems too little too late.

I can’t imagine the pressure on Virginia when she made these claims, she was criticised, her photo questioned as fake, infront of the entire world. It would have taken enormous strength.

I can’t help but wonder how the royals can’t have known more even before the files were released. Surely those high up in the US knew more and relayed to those high up in the UK - Wiliam & Charles surely have contacts is politics, intelligence, and had a rough idea.

Will the UK be done with the royals ? The establishment looks murky - a grey cloud over the monarchy.

I agree it's the closest thing to an existential threat to the monarchy I've encountered in my life, but I have a bigger worry.

People are working themselves into such a frenzy about Andrew that we are losing sight of the protections that the rule of law should be offering to everyone (royalty or not) - the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and protection from defamation. I've read some really quite libellous stuff on Mumsnet about Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie.

Meanwhile, with the level of scrutiny and the quality of public discourse I wonder how Andrew could ever have a fair trial and therefore be held to account. It will be blamed on a cover-up and public faith in institutions will be decimated - which will benefit nobody.

I don’t think he’s going to bring them down any time soon. But I do think that in 10-20-50 years when there is no monarchy (which I think is inevitable), this is what the decline will be traced back to.

I don’t think it will really do them any harm. Everyone knew he was awful anyway, and if anything I think it reflects quite well on the present royal family as an institution that they’ve ditched him and expressed support for the legal process. I think the stuff about it being an epochal disaster for the royals is just journalists getting overexcited and, in this case, misjudging the mood.

I think it's definitely cast a big shadow over them all and I was quite indifferent before. William must be seething.

The monarchy has weathered many a scandal for centuries and they’ll survive this one too.

Who has the confidence, political power and public support to dissolve the monarchy? For all the nationwide polls showing varying support, and the hundreds of MN posts pouring vitriol on the Royals, who is actually going to stand up and say no more? It’s all talk.

I am not a Royalist and think they should only exist if they pay their own way and don’t receive one penny more from the public purse - but no one has the guts and power to dissolve them so they will continue to live as they do.

I can’t help but wonder how the royals can’t have known more even before the files were released. - well they knew enough to fund the pay-off to the tune of many millions.

Their hypocrisy is quite mind-boggling.

I’ve had enough of the lot of them.

A good percentage of the British public couldn't care less one way or the other so maybe, maybe not.

He's yet to be found guilty of more than being a sleaze with dubious morals and friends..

I've never been into the royal family but I'm not one of those anti-royalist try-hards who are offended by them as a concept.

I think it will carry on in this beleaguered state with the Andrew stain until Charles kicks the bucket and William becomes King. If it wobbles then, it's done for but I think there's an opportunity for it to find new sea legs. Especially if we have as much political instability as I expect we'll have by then.

Well I’m in the UK, a British national and I’m bemused by your description OP, being “less enchanted “ by the royals, but I think that might be the root of the problem.

Enchantment, to any degree, has never featured in my thinking about the royal family. They’re there and they’re doing very nicely thank you and they’re determined to keep that particular gig.

Getting rid of them is possible for you, but unlikely here because of the effort involved and the fact that in practice they’d never actually go away.

There are whole threads on here discussing what they might or might not be wearing at any time, for goodness sake. We’re stuck with them here, but do ditch them from your end, if you can.

No, I think the RF is safely entrenched in the best democratic system there is.

Though the first poster's answer states perfectly what I think about the media frenzy.

It won't bring down the monarchy but perhaps countries like yourself in Ausrralia will vote not to,have them as h.o.s. anymore, unless William does that first.

I feel a sadness over Virginia Giuffre. I know that the royals have expressed their support for the victims but it seems too little too late.

The RF had previously issued a statement saying there was no basis to the sexual allegations and that they strongly refuted them. This is when they knew they were true.

Only because they can't hush it up any longer have they changed sides. Even late last year they allowed AMW to issue his own statement that didn't mention victims of trafficking, and which allowed him to decide he wouldn't use his HRH title any more.

That, of course, wasn't acceptable to the UK public so they then had to go a step further.

Every step they've been forced into taking has been because they have been desperately trying to make this go away instead of being open and accountable.

Andrew has always been a waster, grifter and buffoon, and has never been well. liked for his boorish pompous behaviour. Same for his ex wife

so now he is out in the cold with Charles and William making it clear he stays in the cold the only thing left is to remove him from the succession.

Papers need to stop reporting on him and his horse rides, and he fades into obscurity (or jail)

The rest of the RF will continue to work as normal for this country

I'm quite sure they all knew full well what an utter disgrace he was long before anyone had ever heard of Virginia Roberts Giuffre. I think it's optimistic to imagine that whatever happens to him (if anything) will bring an end to the monarchy though, and tbh I'm not sure it should. Personally I would like to see them abolished as I don't see how you can dismantle the British class system as long as their position and status is maintained (yes, I'm one of those aforementioned "anti-royalist try-hards") but I'd rather we as a society discussed the politics of royalty and aristocracy rather than using his sordid goings-on as some kind of touchpaper. If it makes the monarchy unravel completely I won't be sorry though.

The monarchy is tough like a cockroach. Medium-term, I think it will survive, but only if it becomes much more transparent about its finances and its costs from the public purse are cut from c.£160m as they are now to c.£30m, in line with other European monarchies.

I don't really think it is a question of surviving or not surviving. I think it is more a question of how scaled down they become as a feature of public life (and how far the state's willingness to pay the cost of monarchy is scaled down).

They are already way less relevant than they were a couple of decades ago. Or, rather, their relevance is more and more just a kind of celebrity pantomime, of the same sort as hollywood actors etc etc).

The real turning point was the death of the queen. While living, she represented continuity with a period in which the monarchy sort of made sense as a feature of UK public life. When she died, the silliness and anachronism of the whole thing was much more salient.

Andrew's scandal will certainly be a big and important chapter in their decline, but I don't think we can be bothered to abolish them. We'll just pay them less and snub them more.

I don't see why anyone's behaviour should be held against the rest of their family.

I sincerely hope so 👍