Andrew returning to public life

[antelopevalley]

"Prince Andrew — who recently paid a multimillion-pound settlement to Virginia Giuffre to keep her allegations of sexual abuse, which he denies, out of court — is set to make a controversial return to public life on Monday.

As a member of the Order of the Garter, this country’s oldest and most senior order of chivalry, Andrew, 62, will appear alongside senior members of the royal family at the Garter Day service at Windsor Castle."

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/palace-to-support-andrew-in-rebuilding-his-life-as-poison-prince-makes-surprise-return-to-public-duty-r6jskx9b3

@worriedatthistime my family do not have jewels and paintings that are looted or bought from slavery.
We have traced the family history and I know of one unsavoury character in my family's past. I own nothing from him and he has no impact on my life.
And I would not hang up racist paintings in my apartment either.
Stop trying to pretend that everyone has as low morals as the Royal Family. They really do not.
At a minimum an ordinary family would be keeping their children away from Charles - he has had two friends who are paedophiles so I would not trust the kind of friends he has - and would have nothing to do with Andrew. And no I do not have close relatives who have faced sex trafficking charges or who have publicly defended a paedophile.

It would be far better if you listed out all the "work" HM does every day. I understand she is frail now, but back in the day.

OK she smiled and nodded at visiting dignitaries, she welcomed new ambassadors, she nodded through legislation as she couldn't challenge it, she supported various charities, and she went to the races.... a lot!

So, go on tell me, and balance her presence at various things (other than as Head of State) with the security and commercial costs of her deigning to visit somewhere to get a bouquet from a kid.

She had a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister where she could lobby, very successfully, for the Royal Families' interests.

A branch of my Dad’s family can be traced all the way back to the Normans and their conquest in 1066 - I’m just waiting to be told I owe reparations to the UK for lands taken by the French from the Saxons 956 years ago🤷🏼‍♀️😂….to be fair obviously everyone can go back that far and we’ll all have ancestors whose actions we’d be horrified by!! Leave history be, shape the future by behaving better yourself, not fuelling anger & hate. 💐

comparing the U.K. to France is kind of pointless, france has a much varied climate and geography , the U.K. can’t offer anything comparable to the summer resorts of the south , or ski resorts of the French Alps, or culinary Regions like Bordeaux or Provence.
That’s fine if you hate the monarchy but let’s not deny they do bring in money.

Are you living in a literal palace now? If so perhaps you do owe reparations.

@Blinkingbatshit so the past does not matter at all?
What about if you own valuables looted by your parents from Afghanistan? Or you have money because your parents were sex traffickers and made lots of money that way? We should all just ignore it and pretend it never happened?

You are acting as if the Royal Families riches come from hundreds and hundreds of years ago, that is not true. The Kohinoor diamond was stolen in 1947 for example. That is not that long ago.

Kohinoor diamond was stolen in 1947 I think you mean 1849?

Yes sorry I typed the wrong date.
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondand-why-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/

she’s tarnished herself forever and won’t be remembered fondly IMO

Just your opinion, obviously. Of course she hasn't tarnished herself. The country will plunge into mourning when she dies, she is much loved and there will be weeping and wailing. Not everyone believes Andrew was guilty of anything other than inappropriate friendships.

@Kennykenkencat I think that the naivety is very much yours if you think for one second that Charles won't become king - he is absolutely desperate for the role. He absolutely won't abdicate in favour of William - I don't know why people on here keep trotting out this nonsense. The second the queen dies, Charles becomes king, that's literally how this hereditary bullshit works.

Not everyone believes Andrew was guilty of anything other than inappropriate friendships

Yeah... you pay £12million to someone you met through a paedophile even though you only chatted to them. And you keep the paedophile as a friend even when he's been convicted of sex trafficking. And you keep up a friendship for decades with a woman who procures young girls for old men. And you bring these two into Balmoral, Sandringham and Buckingham Palace and the inner heart of the RF. Justt a teensy inappropriate, yes?

@worriedatthistime I agree that comparing Ed Sheeran to the RF is offensive - Ed at least has some talent and earned his money whereas the RF just stole theirs.

@Mamamia7962 out of interest, what does the queen do that is useful? I've never had an answer to this question from anyone so really intrigued!

@PurpleWisteria "the country" will do nothing of the sort. Many people will be sad and many people will be indifferent. The media will tell you it's everybody but I assure you it won't be.

PA is a peadophile as well as an entitled odious pos

The choices he made unfortunately have an effect on his children as well

I dont mind Charles or William , a pity that Princess Anne was not first in line !!

They are pretty wealthy and pay a lot of tax themselves

Part of that wealth has been amassed by paying zilch until the queen reluctantly started to pay tax some thirty years ago. They still dodge what they can a recent example being the queen getting tax on shooting ar Balmoral reduced to below the rate paid by local pubs and restaurants.

They also have their own money from their private work/businesses/investments

Can you elaborate on the paid private work and businesses they're involved in?

Royal investments in the past have been shown to include off shore accounts and holdings in the exploitative firm Brighthouse. Hardly shining examples of integrity.

they own land
Have you not heard of the duchy estates ?

They don't own the duchies. They benefit from the income generated by them. Which incidentally leaves room for some nifty footwork like Charles' rent on Highgrove being magically returned to him in the form of Duchy profits and his being able to sell trees he personally owned which were grown on Duchy land back to the Duchy at a nice big profit.

The choices he made unfortunately have an effect on his children as well

TBF they seem to share their parent's talent for following the money on their own account.

So it seems, Cathy
Already it's been said (in court I believe) that some of Epstein's payouts went to them, and while this may all be the doing of their parents it may not - which is why I'm keeeping an open mind on it

Inappropriate, but so what? Young girls and old men parties are hardly a shocker, as unsavoury as they may be. It's a rare royal or politician who doesn't do this sort of thing in one form or another. Given that Andrew hasn't been charged with anything, even the pay-off is not a sign of guilt. It can be explained away as being for the sake of the country, to stop any further public 'mud slinging'.

He'll be just fine - may have to work behind the scenes more than he would have liked but, overall, he'll be brought back.

K but not everyone believes the earth is round, so what.

There will be a massive outcry if he's brought back. It was hardly just a party or two was it?
We know what the court case was about, what we don't know is whether he had sex with young trafficked girl or girls.

£12mlion gives me my answer. Did it for the country my arse. He lives off of pomp, prestige, entitlement and money. He has had his head turned by despots, dictators and shady oligarchs, he's been in receipt of backhanders. He's done fuck all for the country. We know about 10% of his shady dealings and bringing him back will be a free for all to uncover the rest. Whilst the Queen is alive, the press restrain themselves, that won't last once she's gone

Are you saying all MPs behave like this? Even all the Tories don't! There's some good ones out there on both sides

He will never be brought back once his defender, Mummy, is gone. That much we know. It would open up the biggest can of worms imaginable and be the end of the RF. The public won't accept it, nor will C and W

overall, he'll be brought back

... except he won't. All Hail Not Yet King Wills, Defender of the Realm and his kids' taxpayer-funded Bentleys

Awesome stroke of self-preservation there with the last-minute ban on rogue uncle. Was it manbags at dawn or d'you reckon he did it by whatsapp.

He will never be brought back once his defender, Mummy, is gone. That much we know. It would open up the biggest can of worms imaginable and be the end of the RF. The public won't accept it, nor will C and W

The public were never going to accept Camilla either, except they did. Fergie was banished, except, with no visible source of income, she is obviously still at the trough, albeit under the radar but nevertheless accepted. I am not even going to start on the politicians. Nothing is going to happen to these people. They re-emerge when a suitable period of time has elapsed. Galling, I know, but there's nothing we can do.

No, not all MPs do this but enough do to show us that these sorts of issues are given little credence at the top. In fact, there isn't even a bottom line as to how badly these people have to behave in order to be got rid of.

Yes indeed.