Andrew - continuing his effort to end the Monarchy, part 2

[AnnunciataM]

I am not the OP of the previous thread but we are nearly at 1000 posts and there's been some very good discussion on there.

Previous thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/5473274-andrew-continuing-his-effort-to-end-the-monarchy

Just watching the drone footage of royal lodge , it looks really scruffy.

It really does. Like a dilapidated hotel hoping to make a comeback as a wedding venue.

The thought of him being given a plastic wrapped sandwich and vending machine coffee makes me chuckle. Definitely an episode worth watching if there was!

The mild chirpy banter from the desk sargeant.

The pixelated toilet

The repeated "no comment"

I was genuinely pondering today, if Andrew is ultimately charged, would he plead guilty or would he insist on a trial? I imagine he’d be under massive pressure from Charles to fall on his sword and avoid a global media spectacle. It would mean a lesser sentence too. But would he? We will have to wait and see…

The child looks at least 18 months old to me?

Massively catching up here and have only just seen these revolting pictures.

I thought the child looked a similar age so very possibly not the mystery one Ferg's referring to in 2011.

Hasn't MW been referred to as a 'boob man' in the past? There was also an alleged groping incident with a Spitting Image puppet and an Epstein victim IIRC.

The latest photos are vile. He's utterly void of decency, boundaries and filters.

ETA as are those standing around watching.

I cannot imagine. I just think Andrew right through will think he has done barely anything wrong. Whether that translates into a fight to the finish, who knows.
It will be interesting how in hock he feels to the family, I suppose he's got nothing to lose has he and I am not sure he will listen to his bruv.

Dh and I were rather enjoying the thought of a concrete bed and overused thin blanket last night.

MW was released too early to allow the vision to become reality but it amused us while it lasted.

I was wondering if, with all the crazy media and social media hype, he could claim there was no chance of a fair trial.

That is a worry but hopefully won't affect the outcome.

It’s a fair question. But Andrew getting off on a technicality is probably fairly low down on good outcomes for the royal family (granted, there are not exactly many good outcomes here!)

I have long thought MW has deliberately allowed it to become dilapidated knowing he was going to be booted and taking pleasure in saddling C3 (and ultimately us) with the bill to restore it to good order.

Who'd want to take that monstrous pile on is another matter though.

Maybe it'll be 'gifted to the nation' like that other white elephant Osborne House.

Paul Doyle the Merseyside car-rammer was tried by a jury.

Andrew could at the very least could be tried by a judge only.

Sounds about right @CathyorClaire

@TheAutumnCrow He (Paul Doyle)changed his plea to guilty before the jury was sworn in, so no jury trial

If he’s removed from the line of succession will his children and grandchildren be removed as well? Seems a bit pointless removing him tbh and would just be more performative window dressing.

Sorry yes you’re right; but the HM Courts and Tribunals Service were expecting to run a jury until that late plea, I believe?

I understand that the question ask of potential jurors is whether they can keep an open mind, rather than have they ever heard of the case? Once the case has started they are required to avoid news coverage and discussion.

I imagine we can look forward to Sir Christopher Chope waxing lyrical about how the fragrant, innocent York ‘girls’ have done nothing to deserve this churlish dishonour cast upon them like he’s in a Tudor-themed pantomime.

Maybe they did speak out and it was buried. These are all the questions we are going to ( hopefully ) get answers to in the coming months. And if we dont, I hope the public will kick up an almighty stink.

I wonder who's next on the list for arrest, and if any among them will speak out and bring down the whole pack of cards with them ?

A former royal police protection officer Paul Page says he tried to raise the alarm many times but was warned off as recently as December. I think this could grow to be a huge story - the police certainly seem to have changed their tune these past few days.

Mr Page has now revealed he received a warning from the capital's police force, reminding him of his obligations of 'confidentiality and respect for the privacy of those who are protected'.

The letter from Jon Savell, a deputy assistant commissioner who leads the Met's security and protection command, was headed with the counterterrorism policing logo.

It was sent in December last year after Mr Page said Andrew had smuggled unidentified women into his private apartment at Buckingham Palace …

… He alleged that the royal protection squad was plagued by a culture of gambling, moonlighting and drinking.

The Mail has the story.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15579011/Andrews-former-royal-protection-officer-says-told-shut-Met-claimed-ex-prince-brought-women-Buckingham-Palace-multiple-times-week.html

I think we are about to see many a man come forward and try to cover their own behinds (or sell a story ££). He might be one of them, he might not.

What is for sure is he was a bent copper who was jailed for six years for fraud so 🤷‍♀️

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8176147.stm

He might have been convicted for fraud but the fraud came out of an illegal betting ring being run by Page with other royal protection officers. I can imagine they must have enjoyed living the ‘high life’ by proxy. Imagine staying in palaces and castles waiting for your principle to go out in a fancy car with you in it? I can imagine it must have turned their heads and would have required a strong moral compass to stand against it.

Yes that’s the point, isn’t - that the culture of the royal protection ‘service’ may well turn out to have been rotten to an extent that’s more than a couple of bad apples? That there was a deliberate inertia at the top, as recently as, well, very recently indeed.

Yes indeed, I can imagine it was one big boys club.