Andrew - continuing his effort to end the Monarchy

[TheHaplessWit]

Another new story on Andrew today. Photo's have emerged showing that on Epstein's desk, there were emails regarding Epstein paying debts owed by Andrew/Sarah to staff:

https://people.com/epstein-had-emails-staff-ex-prince-andrew-sarah-ferguson-new-photos-show-11880419

Why on Earth was a Prince of England having his staff paid by a sex trafficker?
Doesn't seem "too honourable" to me.

I can't imagine how hard they are trying to divert attention away from all of this. But the survivors of Epstein need better. We should not be moving on to Kate's swishy hair and the joke she made, or their new dog. The survivors need more, the Palace should be working feverishly on some sort of action plan.

If Edward can't stand at a mic and put out a decent statement there is absolutely no hope.

I just don't think change is going to happen, Charles is elderly with health problems and he will be surrounded by aides and courtiers who are useless. Maybe Williams new hire of a Crisis Manager can knock some sense into them?

I could've written this article myself....

The king may have gone as far as he can in distancing the family from his brother, removing his titles, kicking him out of his grace and favour home in Windsor Great Park and moving him to the agreeable wilds of Norfolk, but the malady lingers on. Humiliation isn’t enough – what kills the monarchy is entitlement. The entertaining royal soap opera has reached a bitter stage

The royal family is in a mess
Some of the sins of the current institution lie with the late queen, who followed her parents in comfortable complacency. It was not her fault that she lived too long, but it was that she did not rein in the excesses of her second son, who had been known to be a liability for at least 20 years. The monarchy must change now, radically. But will it? To do so would go against its nature..

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/04/jeffrey-epstein-scandal-uk-royals-legacy-queen

They'll have a darn good shot at sailing on serenely while pointing at an exiled MW if they absolutely have to.

They must be very grateful for the storm surrounding Starmer at the moment but it would be foolish for them to assume they've drawn a line under this.

I think there will be increasing calls for the release of the TE papers which once it occurs (it must) and the extent of the cover-up laid bare may well spell the end.

The government scandal is all tied up with Epstein though, and the more Epstein files released, the more shit AMW ends up in, and the less likely it is that they all knew about it, even while BP were putting out statements defending Andrew and calling VG a liar.The last things the Royals want is fewer establishment cover ups!

"Funny isnt it how tables have turned those that used to criticise others for not shutting up and reversing the rf for their never complain never explain approach are now here advocating the rf shouldn't be now."

I think you may be off on a wrong tangent here, because my recollection is the 'never complain, never explain' strategy was considered the right approach, by the RF, with regards to Harry and Meghan, I don't recall anyone saying it was the right approach with regards to Andrew.

Recollections may vary though !

As you are obviously referring to my comment, you are wrong about that too, as I have always been on the side of the RF going nuclear with both Harry and Andrew, I certainly didn't buy into the 'dignified' silence approach.

I think it is unlikely the trade papers will be unsealed. Not only Andrew but also government officials and politicians could be implicated. There is also the potential fall out if foreign politicians/royalty are exposed.

Appointing Andrew to this role was an immensely bad judgement call. It was clearly known what he was like and apparently Charles opposed the appointment.

I think that there are too many people with vested interests for this to happen.

Not that it's directly connected but I've just finished reading Rory Stewart's book, Politics on the Edge. What it reveals about the workings of government is very depressing.

Never complain, never explain was always a bollocks statement emanating from QE2 I believe.

What it means is - I will complain if I want to (just about all of them have) but don't expect me to ever ever explain my actions.

said before and I’ll say again; I reckon hell will freeze over, before the documents are unsealed. Far too many high profile people potentially men implicated.

edit to add a comma.

It actually came from Benjamin Disraeli (and he got it from an old quote) and the first of the royals known to swear by it was the Queen Mother.

I think longevity and the increase in media coverage is the reason it's so associated with QEII.

It'll be interesting in 2/5/10 years when more and more of the Epstein stuff is dripfed out, along with whatever is the next big scandal, to see who from the royals and politics is actually left untouched by it all.

It's attacking the royals and Labour atm, but I don't believe for a second there is nothing on any Tories or reform folks. Then maybe celebs? There's bound to be different aims at some point.

Will we actually have any clean politicians left by the end of it all?

The labour government (it was the labour government who appointed Andrew as a trade envoy) have now conceded they will release the intelligence reports on Mandelson and his links to Epstein, is it possible they will be forced to do the same for Andrew, I sincerely hope so !

feellikeanalien · Today 12:59
I think it is unlikely the trade papers will be unsealed. Not only Andrew but also government officials and politicians could be implicated. There is also the potential fall out if foreign politicians/royalty are exposed.
Appointing Andrew to this role was an immensely bad judgement call. It was clearly known what he was like and apparently Charles opposed the appointment.
I think that there are too many people with vested interests for this to happen.
Not that it's directly connected but I've just finished reading Rory Stewart's book, Politics on the Edge. What it reveals about the workings of government is very depressing

I totally agree with Rory Stewart’s gloomy assessment of government machinations but
all of the reasons cited above is precisely why the TE papers should be published!

I think it’s unlikely in reality but I think we should all continue to lobby our MPs about it until something is done.

Any info about foreign royalty or politicians can be redacted.

Let’s see who the officials, politicians and civil servants were, who knew about AMW’s activities, and did nothing. Or who tried to do something and were blocked and by what mechanism?

As Charles objected to AMW’s appointment initially, he has nothing to fear from this process.

AMW needs to faces charges of fraud in public office if the evidence supports it. Why should he escape punishment when no other ordinary citizen would?

The principle, in 2026, that members of the royal family are subject to the same laws as the general public, and subject to the same legal processes and punishment if they transgress, is a really important one for our joint nations I think. It’s not a small matter.

And at the same time, we can look at other tax and property laws from which the RF are exempt. This debacle is the precise opportunity we need to completely reform the way royal finances are managed and to instigate outside, independent assessments. They have hardly done a good job of self-regulation!

Otherwise, how do we know in years to come that we won’t have the same situation with Louis or Charlotte. Or one of their spouses? Or one of Georges’s offspring? Ludicrous though that sounds now.

After this series of transgressions by AMW and SF, we can no longer assume that members of the Royal Family will act with good intent, and we can no longer trust the institution to be open and transparent about it when they don’t.

As Rory Stewart pointed out the other day, we would all still be ignorant of Andrew’s alleged SA of vulnerable young women if the Epstein hadn’t been investigated in the USA.

Lots of things were already known about his alleged financial corruption - Lownie just put it all in one book - but if he is guilty, then I think it’s really important on principle that he is not allowed to get away with it. And those that enabled and facilitated his misdemeanours should face scrutiny too.

Is there any real chance of the end of the royal family?

I used to be very pro the monarchy but not any more. The whole thing is such a bad set up. The main players aren't special except by reason of their birth or marriage, they've no real talent for what they do. And the lesser players are so ripe for corruption, being incredibly well connected but also (in their view) underfunded. I'm sure this is not revelatory to anyone here.

Get rid of them and have a nominated leader of the House of Lords as our head of state. What do the royal family do that they couldn't? Surely noone is that interested now in royal fashion, marriages, babies etc since celebrities are a dime a dozen. We will still have our history but it's just that, history.

Yes, there is @Kinsters
You say you used to be very pro monarchy and now you are not. They only exist with public support. They will go one day although I think that day is a still quite a long time away sadly.

People always say they’re good for tourism, but at this point I think they’re doing the country more harm than good. Besides, the castles, palaces and history would all still exist without them. We could even keep the pageantry - there’s no need for a royal figurehead.

I think I’m 20 maybe 30 years we won’t have a monarchy. But people in power will always scratch each others back, until that particular person is no use to them. It’s so bloody depressing.

I'm pretty sure the monarchy will end at some point. Probably not in my lifetime though.

The problem is though that ending the monarchy will not end corruption or stop people with power behaving as if the law and basic human decency don't have anything to do with them. The first thing I would like to see happen is for everyone to be accountable no matter how much money or influence they have. Depressingly I see no sign of that happening with or without a monarchy.

Put so much more eloquently than me!

The RF has never been accountable to anybody. It still isn't.

Everything feels very “end stage” at the movement doesn’t it?

The world has changed so much in such a short space of time. For better and worse. Our awareness is different. Plus us plebs are so much better aware and informed than we used to be due to internet and AI etc.

Royalty just seems a ridiculous anachronism in 2026. The Queen was dealing with an entirely different populace. You can’t get away with parroting “never complain never explain” now. Not good enough. They keep playing by the old rules and it just doesn’t work any more.

I think the Epstein/ Andrew/ Mandelson scandal has eroded all trust in public bodies. If govt and the royal family want to move on the TE papers should be unsealed and any wrongdoing by anyone properly investigated.

They do feel like a liability rather than an asset right now. Before I'd always tell myself "the alternative wouldn't be any better" and that they're basically just a harmless fun relic from the past. But now neither of those seem true.

How will the monarchy be brought down though? They aren't going to go willingly, that's for sure. Short of a revolution, I can't see how it would happen. We do need a revolution. I am totally sickened with them.

Lets hope so.