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.

Well they did have to sell most of Margaret’s jewelry and heirlooms when she died to raise enough money to pay the inheritance tax but that also implies there was a significant inheritance too.

Well you could argue that Princess Anne won her Olympic medal fair and square!

Of course she had the advantage of having great horses to choose from and the financial stability from which to train and produce event horses of such a high calibre, And the grounds to ride and train them in. But she was in charge and in the saddle when it came to the actual competition.

Same too for Zara and Mike Tindall although they rake it in down under at this time of the year, every year!

I agree that the press needs more regulation, Levenson tackled some of it but not enough. I'm more sympathetic to ordinary people who get hounded than celebrities. Celebrities, and I count Harry in that category these days, have to find the balance between the publicity they need to draw attention to their projects and a private life that they keep out of the press. Some do it more effectively than others and those that do pull the balancing act off tend to react less. Ironically I believe that never complain, never explain, is the best way to deal with the press because it stops the news cycle dead.

Exactly. Only 7% of people in this country currently pay Inheritance tax so they obviously had the assets to qualify. There would have been Estate management as well to lessen the bill.

The whole RF financial model needs revising. It was put in place centuries ago to ensure the Mobarch and the Heir each had a stream of revenue to support a lifestyle befitting their status. At that time, the Monarch's other children would all have had marriages arranged for them into rich families at home or other royal families abroad, so they'd be taken care of financially that way.

At the same time that model was established in the RF, other aristocratic families were employing financial models so that, while the bulk of the capital and the land went to the heir, trust funds ensured that some of the wealth trickled down to the non-heirs.

So you get the situation where e.g. Edward or Harry are sons of one of the wealthiest families in the world, but do not have a share of that wealth - they have to rely on what the Monarch decides to give them. It needs changing.

To be honest I think they have made a rod for their own back with the HIHO business. I don't see an issue with them making money legitimately from sponsorships etc if they are not being paid by the RF to do Royal stuff. They can't ever not be related to the RF, and at least we aren't paying for them. They need to build their own careers, and I think they should have negotiated better with Harry and Meghan and said to Harry 'fine, you have the same arrangement as your cousins'. I think they should be encouraging that type of life for Charlotte and Louis really. The problem with the York girls is that it looks shady. Their activities seem to be solely based on their titles and schmoozing people in the ME, resulting in mysterious amounts of cash for their parents houses. Exactly the MO of their parents.

But that is what HIHO was about. Harry wanted to represent the Queen part time and make money for the rest of the time that is not allowed. Zara, Beatrice, Eugenie, everyone in that generation except William and Harry, were able to make money however they wanted because they weren't working royals. If Harry had just said I'm off to make money a Harry Mountbatten Windsor there wouldn't be a problem. The problem was that he said I'm going to represent the Queen and make money using my title.

Edward and Sophie tried that when they were first married and almost immediately ran into trouble and had to stop their commercial activities and be full time working royals. Whilst the late Queen didn't learn anything from Andrew she did learn from Edward that monestising a royal title isn't popular

She did .

A £100k a year non-executive directorship involving six gigs a year (I wonder what he got out of it?) then lied about it until her lawyers were forced to admit it.

Multi-millionaire Tindall also claimed furlough back in the day.

I'm catching up so this may not be relevant to the discussion but the Tindall grifting and grasping is always worth highlighting given the inexplicable free pass they often seem to get.

@CathyorClaire
Yes - good old Teflon Mike. No mud seems to stick to him. Or to Zara for that matter.

And let's not forget Peter Phillips either.

The solution is for them to grow up knowing that they will need to earning a living.

They invariably know they don't though at least in the 9-5 / five weeks holiday (but fighting colleagues for preferred dates) sense the rest of us understand it.

Even the hangers-on are underpinned with trust funds and bequests we'll never know about and left free to swan around pretending to work in sectors that would have filed any of our equally inexpert applications in the circular bin without a second glance.

There was some story a while back that Charlotte wants to be an NHS nurse -allegedly. How likely is that to happen?
What is James, Viscount Severn going to do? Or Savannah and Isla Phillips?
They will always have the family wealth and privilege at their back.

Linley flogged off the Mustique mansion she loved and gifted him in the dual hope she could continue to holiday there and avoid inheritance tax five years before she died apparently much to her disappointment.

He would have benefited from a significant taper relief for the transaction.

Further 'significant inheritance' does beg the question of how it was amassed.

I feel as though we should only really being see the King and other royals who are over 18 publicly.

I think the heir and spares should stay completely away from public life until they go to university at which point they can start to be in the public more, attending events. Whilst going to get a degree and job afterwards.

I say this if you can follow my train of thought so far...William isnt going to step into the role as King until maybe 50? Why do they need be 'working royals' attending events so to speak whilst they are children. Yes prepare the heir in the background and then once an adult he can learn the public side of things.

Unless the King has a terminal illness and the heir needs to get up to speed ASAP I just dont see why they need to be seen.

I have said this more than once. If we have to have a monarchy I want only see queen, king, heir and wife and that is it.

Yes when the heir's kids have started to make a life, the odd public photo, but it's got beyond a joke. Everywhere after Christmas for weeks there were photos of Charlotte after the pap walk. All about her smile, coat, her hair, what she said Just too much

I think the Beckham blow up is a prime example of how some adults grow to realise they were exploited as children and resent it.

W&K should probably take note but won't.

I would say that this applies more to the Sussexes. There are genuine reasons why we see the children of the future King ( as well as the children of other Royal Families) . The Sussexes? We keep on getting reminded they are private citizens so they have no importance as regards the RF. We don't see endless little titbits of children like eg Reece Witherspoon in their ordinary life. Yes we may see them at a premiere. Then again there's Meghan's friend Courtney Adamo who features her children endlessly - in fact it's what her insta and business are based on. Maybe this is what Meghan would really like to do. There's a generation of children used by influencers just coming to the fore.

Yet they all do 'represent the Queen'. They turn up to garden parties, do charity work etc. The only reason they have the clout and influence they do is because they are related to the RF. Its hardly a massive family breakdown inducing stretch to allow Harry to do the same. Its a tiny point of negotiation. They all monetise their Royal titles. The Tindalls manage to do it even though they don't even have Royal titles. Mike is always flapping his gums reminding people his wife is a member of the RF. If you don't want people 'monetising their Royal titles' then they need to either share the loot around more people or get rid of the titles and keep the non heirs entirely private, which means no parading Charlotte and Louis round the crowds

There are genuine reasons why we see the children of the future King

I suppose the desirability of parading young children who have no say in the matter might depend on whether you believe the monarchy to be a good thing generally.

Perhaps the problem is that all those RF-adjacent individuals understand how the institution works, and what benefits it bestows upon them. And so follow, and help shape, the rules. While H never appreciated his privilege, and M never intended to stick around in the UK once she'd bagged her royal status.

Yes I agree with you on that one. Harry only saw all the unfairness to him compared to his brother, but its a Monarchy. Its literally a system built on hierarchy. Its not fair. All his unearned and unbridled privilege stems from him winning the lottery of life by being born into the RF. Ive said before that I think, rather than wanting to destroy or even modernise the Monarchy, what Harry wants is to be part of a Monarchy that can do what it likes without even the minimal scrutiny they get in the press. He wants it to be the 1950s again.

Going back to the Yorks, I wonder if Lownie plans to update Entitled with the latest developments, eg removal of Andrew's titles, in time for the paperback publication?

I'm listening to it on Audible, when I go to bed. I always fall asleep after 20 minutes. At this rate I won't finish it until 2030!

Presumably the next version will be called Untitled

I never understand this percentage tbh. My darling sister died unexpectedly, no children and a home just outside the M25 which, in itself, breached the £325k limit but she was not a wealthy woman by any means.