Princess Anne has had enough of scandal-ridden Prince Andrew as the fallout from his longstanding relationship with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein continues.
“Anne has long sided with the King,” Christopher Andersen, royal expert and author of Brothers and Wives, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, October 17. “She is as fed up with Andrew as Charles and William are.”
(Charles is the firstborn of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. After welcoming Charles in November 1948, the couple expanded their family with Anne in August 1950. The late Queen Elizabeth went on to welcome sons Andrew and Edward in February 1960 and March 1964, respectively.)
“Andrew bullied his little brother when they were younger, but they grew closer over the years,” Andersen continued of Andrew and his brother Edward’s relationship. “Still, Edward has no choice but to fully support Charles in his efforts to rid himself of the problematic Duke of York.”
Is Prince Andrew Still a Working Royal? Where He Stands With the Family
On Friday, Prince Andrew announced he is giving up his official royal titles as his previous connection to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors, continues to make headlines.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew said in a statement to Us. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
According to Andersen, the King’s son, Prince William, played a role in Prince Andrew’s decision to rescind his royal titles.
“Prince William has been urging his father the King to do something about Andrew for years,” Andersen explained. “The Epstein sex abuse scandal just won’t go away — the royals are holding their breath, anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop once all the files are released.”
Prince Andrew had a well-documented friendship with the late convicted pedophile, long after the latter’s 2008 conviction on sex trafficking charges. In 2019, Prince Andrew and Epstein were accused of sexual abuse and sex trafficking by Virgina Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year.
Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying in a now notorious November 2019 BBC interview that he had no memory of meeting Giuffre despite there being a picture of the pair together when his accuser was underage. Giuffre later filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in August 2021. According to court documents obtained by Us at the time, the lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.
In 2022, as a result of the sexual assault allegations and continued fallout from Andrew’s disastrous BBC interview, the late Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his royal honors, medals and achievements.
Will Prince Andrew Lose ‘Royal Protection’ Like Harry After Title Strip?
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” Buckingham Palace announced at the time. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
Andersen claims Prince Andrew was “Queen Elizabeth’s favorite child,” which left the embattled royal to feel as though “he could get away with pretty much anything when she was alive.”
“He grew used to that,” Andersen told Us on Friday. “Andrew has a definite arrogant streak, so instinctively he puts up a fight whenever he’s called on the carpet by his big brother. But as the scandals keep piling up, he is increasingly resigned to the fact that he has dug a hole for himself he can’t climb out of.”
Andersen added, “Now it’s all about damage control, so when the King read Andrew the riot act this time, I’m told that this time it didn’t take long for Andrew to shut up for once and listen.”
