Prince William plans to take a more ruthless approach to Prince Andrew than his father and will ban his disgraced uncle from his future coronation, according to reports. The heir to the throne was consulted on the decision that led to Andrew relinquishing his Duke of York title on Friday, but the Sunday Times said William "knows the 'Andrew problem' will be in his in-tray at some point". The newspaper claimed the future king will be "more ruthless" and is "not satisfied with the outcome".
The Metropolitan Police said it is looking into allegations that Andrew tried to get officers to dig up dirt for a smear campaign against his sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre. The Mail on Sunday claimed Andrew passed Giuffre's date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate her.
Andrew relinquishes dukedom
Andrew issued a statement on Friday saying he was giving up his Duke of York title and honours to prevent distracting from the work of the monarch and the royal family. The prince, who still retains his royal title and lives in the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion, made the announcement in his own words after years of controversy surrounding his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The prince's alleged smear attempt came hours before the Mail on Sunday first published the famous photograph of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre in London. Andrew reportedly emailed the late Queen's then-deputy press secretary about his request to his protection officer and suggested Giuffre had a criminal record, though the police officer did not act on the request.
Future royal exclusion plans
When William becomes king, he will ban Andrew from all elements of royal life including his coronation and most state occasions, the Sunday Times reported. William will also ban Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson from royal events, but their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will still be welcome at family and official gatherings.
William's approach contrasts with that of King Charles, who allowed Andrew to attend his 2023 coronation wearing his Order of the Garter robes. However, Charles has already ruled that Andrew will no longer attend Christmas Day service with the royal family, and Friday's statement was viewed as a final banishment after years of scandal.
Giuffre's posthumous memoirs
Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoirs, due out on Tuesday, have intensified focus on the sexual assault allegations and Andrew's links to Epstein. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, wrote that Andrew insisted she sign a one-year gag order after their settlement to prevent tarnishing the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
She described getting "more out of" Andrew than a reported 12-million-dollar payout because she had "an acknowledgement that I and many other women had been victimised and a tacit pledge to never deny it again". Andrew paid millions to settle the civil case in 2022 despite claiming never to have met Giuffre and vehemently denying her allegations that she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions when she was 17.
Sources used: "Sunday Times", "Mail on Sunday", "Telegraph", "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
