It’s interesting how positive headlines about Harry coming in from the cold are being used to mask negative ones about Sarah Ferguson

[Inotherwordspleasebetrue]

This is blatant speculation but I’m beginning to think that Harry was right all along and that the Buckingham Palace press machine uses stories about the lower ranking royals royals to protect the core of the monarchy.

So, on this occasion, to distract from damaging stories about Sarah Ferguson’s e-mails and back-tracking with Epstein, especially given the Yorks recent prominent appearance at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, my theory is that the Palace has given a tacit nod to a story about Harry coming back in from the cold, knowing that any story about Harry or Meghan will immediately hit the top slot and overshadow anything else?

Buckingham Palace must think people are very dim, or rely on the fact that they swallow this propaganda whole without questioning it?

Of course this time Harry will be happy because the headlines are favourable to him. And on a human level everyone loves a story about a reconciliation between father and son. But generally I think the British public are being played by all of this spin to cover up the type of story about financial murkiness that Andrew Lownie uncovered and wrote about in his latest book?

All of which leads me to wondering why the Royal Family and the men in grey suits are once again protecting Andrew and Sarah? Is it simply because Andrew is the King’s brother, and therefore close to the Crown, or is it because Andrew’s financial dealings are not much different to what most of them do in the RF, but just a bit more blatant and extreme?

Who knows what the truth is any more?

MrsLeonFarrell
Security and what Andrew did on behalf of the government are not within Charles' remit. Is lived politicians to do some investigating though.

Technically, that may be true, but I think it became Charles’s remit when he took the top job and when Lownie dug up evidence of politicians and ambassadors taking proof to the late Queen, of Prince Andrew committing serious financial wrongdoing, potentially breaking the law, for over a decade while acting as trade envoy to the UK and QE2 turning a blind eye, And when this evidence became public knowledge in Entitled.

This isn’t just about familial relationships. Charles is head of state and the monarch’s insignia, the Royal Arms, appears behind the head of every judge in virtually every court throughout Britain. According to Wikipedia;

“The Royal Arms appear in every courtroom in England and Wales (with the exception of the Magistrates’ court in the City of London), demonstrating that justice comes from the monarch, and a law court is part of the Royal Court (hence its name).
Judges and magistrates are therefore officially representatives of the Crown.
The presence of the Royal Arms explains why lawyers and court officials bow to the judge or magistrates’ bench when they enter the room. They aren’t bowing to the judge – they are bowing to the coat of arms, to show respect for the King’s justice.”

As H of S, Charles surely has a duty to ensure that all royal family members act within the law? He is boss of the Firm now. Nothing much happens without his say so. Just as QE2 had the power to suppress this information ; presumably Charles has the power to resurrect it?

This current head in sand attitude, with no one taking responsibility , is how Prince Andrew got away with all of his corrupt behaviour in the first place, and it’s simply not good enough,

Remember Andrew potentially put national security at risk too by fraternising with a Chinese spy. Who knows what secrets he gave away in the past when fraternising with shady businessmen when overseas? Information that he gleaned from his trade envoy role when we know he attended ambassador level meetings? These shady foreign businessmen presumably weren’t falling over themselves to give Andrew money without something in return? What was it?

There needs to be a proper enquiry, and if it doesn’t happen, it’s further proof that the Royals can no longer be trusted to police themselves.

Yes I had forgotten about that BemusedAmerican that PA broke a policeman’s arm by driving too fast didn’t he?
He got away with that too. And deliberately ramming the gates at Windsor causing thousands of pounds of damage. There’s a history of him getting away with unlawful behaviour.

That’s a bit of a weak excuse for him qualifying for a police escort to the Duchess of Kent’s funeral though, paid for by the tax-payer, He could have just called an Uber!

Andrew in an uber? Now that would be something I’d pay to see! I hope this latest stuff firmly puts him and his ex wife properly in the cold.

Seriously? He couldn’t just have had a driver?🤔

Lol he will be going to Pizza Express next…. Oh!

Need the laughing reaction 😁
well played @ThePoshUns

The Guardian's Marina Hyde on the whole mess, thought people might appreciate this.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/23/royal-victim-duchess-fergie-sarah-ferguson-jeffrey-epstein?CMP=share_btn_url

I think that Charles does have a duty to get Andrew to obey the law but the problem in this case is that he hasn't been convicted of anything (and don't get me started on powerful people escaping justice). They can remove his patronages, his HRH, his funding and his security, all of which they have done. But with someone like Andrew (the dim witted old sleaze bucket as Marina Hyde calls him) unless you can force him to do things legally he is going to keep pushing the boundaries.

Legally Andrew has a lease and is keeping to the terms, legally he can't be banned from a public place. Of course anyone decent would listen to advice but he isn't decent. His title can't only be removed by legal means. Unless we want to give Charles more real legal powers, so that justice isn't just done in his name but is decided by him, he is a bit stuck. And personally I don't want to give Charles more powers.

The RF seemed to be able to banish Edward V111 pretty effectively and he didn’t do anything illegal either!

@CurlewKate - consorting with the enemy?

It does seem as although it’s called The Firm, (family) members are on an exceedingly long leash. Far too long are the leashes if all the past behaviour is anything to go by. There’s all this talk of “grey men” - but they don’t seem to have been very effective in advising against or uncovering dubious behaviour.

I know we live in a more censorious age now, not to mention the age of screen-shotted and saved emails, texts etc, but still… mucking about with people who expect something in return should surely have been nipped in the bud?

In the past, I would have said you can’t expect to keep Andrew away from events like funerals but after the way he stood smiling and joking at the DoK’s funeral, they really must do. It was incredibly disrespectful and he was clearly more pleased about the opportunity to be photographed publicly with KCIII and the PoW than he was mournful. At a minimum, he should be told to enter and leave by the back entrance. He is a despicable human and I actually find it offensive that he still finds a way to weasel his way into the public eye.

I know we live in a more censorious age now, not to mention the age of screen-shotted and saved emails, texts etc, but still… mucking about with people who expect something in return should surely have been nipped in the bud?

A bit difficult perhaps, @MaturingCheeseball, when Charles himself has been implicated in the very same?

I can't recall if "selling citizenship" is the one which finally did for Michael Fawcett - he resigned so often it's hard to keep track - but how convenient that Charles was said to have known nothing about it

Yeah, right ...

In the past, I would have said you can’t expect to keep Andrew away from events like funerals but after the way he stood smiling and joking at the DoK’s funeral, they really must do

Edited to add that I don't disagree, @JSMill, but how?
If he ignores his brother's wishes - even if they are his wishes - I suppose they could have some flunkey primed to remove him, but how that would go down is anyone's guess (though it could make for some brilliant footage )

I suppose “they” could’ve stopped Andrew attending the DoK funeral in the way they could’ve stopped me attending it. However that would’ve happened in practice. I don’t know.

Any fuss and headlines would have course have been distressing for her widower and children but I think the public reaction would’ve been supportive. Could have been an easy win for Charles.

That said, I think there’s a reason why Charles doesn’t want to annoy the York scumbags ie they know things and won’t hesitate to blab.

@PuzzledandpissedoffI think he needs a real dressing down from his older brother about what he’s done to his family. If my db had a long history of associating with a prolific paedophile, I would have done that a long ago but KCIII actually also has a public duty to compel his brother to stay out of the public eye. IFRC, Andrew stayed away at Christmas, which is a good start. I don’t know if he was seen going to church at Balmoral this year but that’s definitely within KCIII’s control. No more Fergie in the royal enclosure at Ascot either. I think it’s awful that KCIII looks likely to leave W to sort the problems of Andrew and Harry.

Charles couldn’t tell the courts what to do, over Harry and his security. Afaik, it’s up to the CPS to decide if there’s enough evidence for a prosecution?

That's an interesting point. Do you think it helped that the government of the day also saw Edward as a threat to national security? I don't know much about the abdication so I'm wondering how they managed to keep Edward out of the country, and if the way they did it would still work today.

They scapegoated Wallis Simpson and made the whole thing about her, then sealed the records until 50 years after his death. I suspect the threat of them just unsealing them would have kept him in line.

Presumably the records have now been released as it is over 50 years since
his death. I can't remember this. Did they reveal any interesting secrets?

There is a documentary called The Traitor King on C4
All the stuff about the Nazis was all revealed in 2022, 50 years after his death. Before tthatthe evil Wallis Simpson stole the Rightful King from his Throne with her evil divorcee wiles and killed his brother!

Blaming Wallace Simpson at a time when divorce was so stigmatised was a useful get-out for the government too. At a time of rising tensions in Europe and when the British revered the monarchy absolutely, the truth - the king is in cahoots with Hitler to make Great Britain part of the Third Reich - would have been very destabilising.

That is true. But the lie carried on for many years afterwards until it was the established narrative. As usual married in women ( not Fergie who deserves everything she gets) are blamed for the shortcomings of the ' blood Royals'.

Apparently William is at Balmoral with his father . He was spotted at Aberdeen airport.
Wonder what their main conversation topics will be ?

I didn't know that, mylovelygreendress, but would certainly love to be a fly on the wall

I predict fisticuffs in the heather. William will win.