The Yorks 2 !

[jeffgoldblum]

Sorry missed end of thread !
had a slight hiccup.
anyway thread 2 ready for tomorrows new article. 😁

Thanks that looks new to me.

The full article is behind a paywall but I have seen the headline for today’s article. Apparently Andrew slept with a dozen women in the first year of his marriage to Fergie. I totally didn’t expect that. I thought they had a happy relationship and it was the pressure of being a royal made SF leave.

Thanks once again @IAmATorturedPoet!
you are a complete star ⭐!

That archived post from torturedpoet will get you there. Another grim read it seems the Queen had had enough of her (Andrew, for some strange reason, remained her favourite). According to this account, it was the Queen who pushed for the divorce. I might have felt sorry for them, but there are far more deserving strangers out there, so I don’t. It’s a sad and sorry tale if they were simply a private family but they’re not. This is the British Royal Family, who are supposed to set an example for the nation.

That morning in the summer of 1986, Andrew had been made Duke of York, the traditional title for the monarch's second son. The red-haired bride looked striking in an ivory satin wedding dress with a 17ft train that bore the letters A and S intertwined in silver beads.
When the new couple returned to Buckingham Palace for the balcony appearance, a crowd of 250,000 people chanted, 'We want a kiss.' The couple obliged. The multitude roared. The young girl had her prince. The fairy tale had come true.
How, then, did it all gone wrong, ending in divorce 10 years later?
Introduced to each other in June 1985 by Princess Diana, they had a whirlwind romance, becoming engaged in February 1986 and marrying in July.

first snippet!

Andrew was deeply unsettled when Koo Stark, his one-time actress girlfriend, married another man. Meanwhile, Sarah had despaired of her live-in boyfriend, the much-older racing driver Paddy McNally, ever proposing.
They found each other when they were both needy, they got on instantly and, according to one of her friends, 'things got better and better between them as the weeks passed. It wasn't complicated. That was the nice thing about it. A straightforward love story.'
But there were mixed feelings in the Royal Family. They had known Fergie all her life and she shared their interests in outdoor pursuits, in dogs, horses, even charades. Compared to Diana, she was easy-going and clearly made Andrew happy.

I don't think that Andrew will bring down the monarchy. It's shocking to see everything he and Sarah have done all in one place but nothing is particularly new. If it was Charles doing these things then yes absolutely it would be a problem, but it isn't and the monarchy has weathered worse storms than Andrew. He is on the periphery now and the odd walk to church isn't doing any harm, maybe he'll learn something from the sermons.

If Andrew's conduct is to be investigated then I really hope that investigation covers why the government kept sending him trade missions knowing what he was like. I'm still convinced that the reason those documents were sealed was to protect politicians and civil servants rather than the late Queen. She didn't have the power to insist he was given this role so there must be some background we don't know that would explain why they kept sending the sexually incontinent twit to represent the UK. I bet it was about leveraging his unsavoury contacts for money and business deals. Who cares about women when Andrew can make deals with his friends?

Over and above Andrew and Sarah there are important questions have about powerful men get away with awful behaviour and are given a pass by those around them. It's a question for society in general and it goes beyond a mother wanting to believe the best about her son. Andrew is in the headlines but there are hundreds of cases of men with power, in many different areas, behaving dreadfully. They all deserve the spotlight but I'm betting it will stay on Andrew.

But according to a well-connected source: 'Fergie couldn't stop talking – and inappropriately. She was all high jinks, jolly hockey sticks and practical jokes. Andy loved it, no one else did. The Queen said to someone, 'Does that girl never stop talking!' The Duke of Edinburgh just thought she was a girl on the make.'
Even Sarah's own family were not sure about the relationship. With characteristic candour, her father stated: 'She's either in love with Andrew or in love with the Royal Family and I think it's the latter.'
But she impressed Prince Charles enough for him to urge Diana: 'Why can't you be more like Fergie?' And the Queen is reputed to have told Sarah, 'I'm so glad you've taken Andrew off our hands, but why on earth did you do it?'

**
Within weeks of the wedding, Fergie realised it was a mistake. They had few mutual interests – he liked shooting and golf, she preferred skiing and riding – and were dissimilar characters. The one thing they shared was an unsophisticated sense of humour.
It didn't help that Andrew was never there. A naval officer, he was either at sea or on a naval base far away from her. Focused on his own needs, he admitted his priorities to his wife: 'I am a prince, then a naval officer, then a husband.' One year he spent only 42 days at home.
Sarah, insecure, in need of love and attention, became bored, depressed and lonely, amid the pressures of court life and criticism from both the media and the Palace. She was miserable.

After a rare weekend with her new husband, she would have to wave goodbye to him and then sit in her dressing room, stared at by the 'stately oils' of Queen Victoria on the walls, 'and I would break. I would cry softly, resignedly'.
There were faults on both sides. According to one friend of Andrew, the marriage quickly became an arrangement in which neither was making enough effort. After the duke was posted to the naval base at Portland on the Dorset coast, an old manor house was rented for them so they could be together at weekends, but they only went there on four occasions.
She was annoying people. The exuberance and fun that at first had endeared her to the public now became a liability as she took 99 days' holiday in nine months. She wore a T-shirt that said 'Piste Again' across the front.
There were also complaints from Palace staff who found her unnecessarily demanding. After an evening out on the town at Harry's Bar or Annabel's in Mayfair, she would arrive back at the Palace late at night with guests and expect staff to rustle up a meal, despite the fact they had been working since 6.30am.
When she was invited to Highgrove, Charles's country estate, the housekeeper, Wendy Berry, noticed how the 'rather frumpy Sloane' she had first met had turned into 'a very demanding young madam'. She was 'obviously loving every moment of her newfound importance'.
Taking tea to Sarah one morning, Berry 'asked if she needed anything pressing, and the duchess pointed to two bags filled with blouses and other clothes. 'All of it, Ma'am?' I asked. 'Yes,' she said firmly, 'all of it.'

In Méribel, staying as a guest in a socialite's chalet, she insisted the maids call her 'Ma'am', curtsey to her at all times and required them to spend hours cooking a meal before deciding to dine out.
All the while she was developing extravagant habits. Sponsored by People magazine, she flew Concorde to New York to attend a charity performance of The Phantom Of The Opera, staying in the $3,000 Presidential Suite of the Waldorf Towers. Partying continued long into the night, leaving the sponsors with several thousand dollars to pay for extra catering and room service. One who saw the wine bill commented: 'Well, she certainly knows her vintages.'
In truth, though, Sarah was finding the growing pressures on her difficult to cope with and was constantly in tears, particularly after her husband signed on for a further 10 years in the navy. Six months' pregnant, she now weighed getting on for 15 stone, having 'drowned my sorrows in mayonnaise, sausage rolls and smoked mackerel pate sandwiches from M&S'.
Her confidence wasn't helped when a fashion commentator named her number one on his list of 'Worst Dressed' women, describing her as 'a fashion obscenity who walks like a duck with a bad leg' and 'looks as if she makes beds in Ireland or milks cows'.

The birth of Beatrice in 1988 did not solve the problems in the marriage. Andrew appeared incapable of responding to his wife's needs and changing moods, which were accentuated by appetite suppressants. Nor did he give her the support she needed to deal with the criticisms of her weight, dress sense and the number of holidays she took.
**

Just imagine if Queen Elizabeth II had three children starting with Anne, and Charles was never born: Andrew would now be on the British throne. I’m starting to think that, in the modern age, raising children under such an intense media spotlight is a sophisticated form of child abuse. How can they possibly have normal childhoods or be relatable to ordinary people when every moment of their lives is scrutinized and controlled especially at such a high level of privilege and wealth? It all feels rather jarring as Britain enters what seems like an inexorable post-imperial decline. Already, the growing number of Reform voters see the “woke” Royal Family as an anathema to their toxic, plastic patriotism, with their obsession with net zero and multiculturalism, and the progressive left have never cared for them anyway.

She told one of her confidants: 'I'd write to him almost every day and eagerly await the post for his return letters but they never came. I was missing him madly and couldn't understand why he couldn't spare the time to let me know what he was up to. It was so depressing.'
The reality was that the marriage had been in difficulty for some time, with Andrew having affairs. According to his former driver, the duke had slept with 'more than a dozen women before their first anniversary'.
A royal insider said: 'Sarah discovered Andrew wasn't coming home on some of his leave. He was going elsewhere – and this just drove her crazy. She didn't like the fact she was a shore widow, and to discover she was shore-widowed intentionally really hurt.'
One source claimed the arguments they had 'bordered on domestic violence'. 'You have to understand what I am dealing with here,' the duchess told a friend. 'I'm married to a man who has never been inside a supermarket.'
Fergie told Madame Vasso, her psychic healer: 'He's just not strong enough, and he's never there when I need him.' According to a mutual friend, 'Andrew's idea of a good time on a beautiful sunny day was to sit in the house and watch golf on the television. His dinner would be placed in front of him so he could continue watching TV, and then he would go to bed.'

got to the stage where Sarah would make any excuse not to be with her husband. 'She would ask if the duke was in for dinner and, if he was, she would make sure she was out.'
Initially, she tried very hard to save the marriage but then concluded all the compromising was coming from her side. She tried to raise the state of her marriage with the Queen, but HM was uncomfortable about being involved in other people's emotional problems and the talk was quickly deflected to dogs and horses.
It was only a matter of time before the duchess found the excitement and affection she craved with other men. When she met American playboy Steve Wyatt in November 1989, she was ripe for an affair. Bored and lonely, she was instantly attracted to him with his thatch of brown hair, soft blue eyes and rich, hypnotic voice, and shared interest in alternative medicine.
One who was present remembered: 'There was chemistry between them.' The relationship that would eventually lead to her divorce began. He would provide the emotional security she had been missing.
In March the following year, her second child, Eugenie, was born by Caesarean section. The baby did little to save the marriage. In fact, according to a friend, it was the moment the sexual side of their marriage ended.

Yes , I was going to post this exact same comment yesterday!
people have been claiming they have secrets that “will bring down the royal family “ for forever , unless the bad behaviour is by the actual monarch ( they got rid of one king who was not suitable already!) or the next heir in line , all that will happen is gossip and scandal , one would hope whoever is responsible is held up to scrutiny and punishment.
the errant , money grifting, scandals of the “spares” won’t bring down the monarchy unfortunately for some.

I feel sorry for their daughters. Regardless of whether you like B & E or not, that would be a very difficult read for them.

These sorts of comments are pointless, Charles was born first, whoever is in direct line are taught and managed into their position.
you might as well ask “ just imagine if hitler hadn’t been born “
he was, things happen, the resulting history happened.
there are no do overs!

Very true, but now they are adults how much were they involved? 🤔

@vera99
What a valuable insight from you, thank you.

As for the WikiLeaks article... he is fucking clueless isn't he? He has done (and is still doing) so much damage to the country and the Monarchy.

Meanwhile babies and children in Gaza are starving to death. 😔

@CathyorClaire, I’m sorry, I’ve posted paragraphs of the new instalment ( I got bored towards the end and gave up!) , this doesn’t seem to have any real information that you and I will find particularly interesting, shame! I was hoping we would get more information about the financial scandal or at least more transparency around Epstein!

I’m starting to think that, in the modern age, raising children under such an intense media spotlight is a sophisticated form of child abuse.

I can’t agree.
They are not raised under intense media spotlight, they are seen at the odd public event and the annual birthday/school photo. Given that they will have a public role as adults it would be grossly unfair to have them spend their entire childhood out of the public eye and then, at age 18, thrust them into public life and expect them to be able manage that - that sounds pretty abusive to me 🤷♀️

I remember several years ago, at a family gathering, my db’s MIL, who is very outspoken and opinionated, declared that PA kept Fergie close because she knew his secrets. I now realise she was absolutely right.

I agree. I acknowledge, as pps have mentioned, that these are mature women with wealth of their own, but sexual revelations about family members and particularly parents, are always traumatic. It's the detail, in the current scenario.

I knew a mum friend from primary school who was in her late 30s when it was revealed that her mother had been involved in the abuse of children at a children's home some years previously. She was never the same person and became reclusive and depressed. So - even if B & E are silly, materialistic etc etc (which we don't know for sure) and have benefited from their parents' misdemeanours, I still feel for them reading about Andrew's sexual behaviour and attitude to other women.

How long before people start coming forward claiming to be Prince Andrew’s ‘love child’? Eugine, Beatrice meet your step brother/sister. 😱