bitchy | Royalist: King Charles is totally supporting ‘intensely loyal’ Prince Andrew

The Daily Beast’s Royalist column is so utterly random sometimes. Tom Sykes largely ignored the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charismatic visit to Germany, and when he did cover it, he framed everything through William and Kate’s desperate attempts to pull focus from the Sussexes. Now, during a week full of royal trips to New York and France, Sykes has barfed out a lengthy piece on… Prince Andrew. While I think we should talk more about how “the Prince Andrew conundrum” perfectly encapsulates the disgusting priorities of the Windsor clan, I guess Sykes would rather rake over all of the details of how the family has always embraced Andrew privately. Sykes does have some new info here, including some answers to the questions about where Andrew got the money to settle Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit, and where Fergie got the money for that Mayfair townhouse. Some highlights:

Andrew’s position now: Andrew is now reconciled to a strange, unique position—a royal very much in the family fold in private, but one without any public-facing role. Asked if there was a prospect Andrew would ever be allowed to represent the family again, a friend of King Charles told The Daily Beast, “No. That is settled.” A friend of Andrew’s told The Daily Beast that they also believed Andrew did not harbor dreams of a return to public life. “What’s done is done,” the friend said, “Andrew can’t turn the clock back.”

Andrew’s coronation outing: Another big public symbol came when Andrew was permitted to wear an ornate outfit known as “Garter Robes” to the coronation of his brother. Wearing this archaic costume is the exclusive right of members of the “Order of the Garter,” an ancient chivalric club with just 14 members; the great and the good as handpicked by the monarch. Notably, this left Harry as the only lineal heir to the throne not in military or special uniform.

More Andrew rehab: Then this summer, a big one: He was invited to Balmoral for the weekend, and packed off to church in a car with William and Kate in front of photographers. In the background, another key concession granted to Andrew by the king was that he was allowed to hang on to his weekend of shooting at Windsor Castle in November 2022, and he is expected to keep the privilege this year as well. This was not made public, but within the family and their circle it was seen as another clear statement of support for Andrew. It is considered a bit gauche to accept an invite to shoot if you can’t offer one in return, so keeping his Windsor days means that Andrew was free to accept shooting invites. Thus his usual busy winter social season, pegged around country shooting weekends, has remained unchanged.

Andrew’s financial situation: There are also suggestions from some of Andrew’s friends that his financial situation is rosier than might be imagined, and that he continues to receive support from his brother. There have even been reports that he continues to receive meals from the Windsor Castle kitchen, and that there are visits by the palace groundskeeping and gardening team to help maintain the massive garden at his home, Royal Lodge (from which reported efforts to evict him appear to have been paused, more on which below).

The settlement to Virginia Giuffre: The key question, however, is the financial settlement paid to Virginia Giuffre. Details have never been revealed, but it is thought to have been around $14 million, and it is understood it was largely paid by the late monarch. There were reports this was a loan, but, again, these have never been confirmed. Some sources now suspect that the debt was forgiven in his mother’s will, and that the proceeds of the sale of Andrew and Sarah’s chalet in Verbier were actually used to buy a Mayfair townhouse in Sarah Ferguson’s name. The London property had been on the market for £6.75m ($9 million). Public records show that Andrew sold the Swiss property, Chalet Helora, for $22m. However, $9 million was still owed to the former owner, $2m to another creditor, and a hefty mortgage would have had to be settled as well.

Charles is funding Andrew: A friend of the king said they did not know the details of any financial arrangements between Andrew and Charles, but said that Charles had made it “very clear” that his brother “would not be abandoned” by the family. A previous iteration of this formula reportedly had Charles vowing not to leave his brother “homeless or penniless.”

Andrew is better than Harry in Charles’s eyes: The friend said that Andrew had benefited from comparisons to Harry, saying: “Unlike Harry, Andrew has done everything he has been asked to, and Charles realizes that. He hasn’t written a book, he hasn’t given interviews. His [Andrew’s] primary concern has been to protect the monarchy. He is intensely loyal to the monarchy.”

[From The Daily Beast]

So the basics are: Andrew gets to stay at Royal Lodge, the Royal Estates are picking up the tab for upkeep on Royal Lodge, Andrew still gets staff and meals paid for by the king, Andrew still gets all of the rights and privileges of a royal within the family (shooting parties, Balmoral invites, coronation invites, Garter robes), Andrew’s $14 million debt to QEII was forgiven upon her death, and Andrew and Fergie have millions stashed away. Plus, Andrew has enough info to hurt Charles and the family, so it would be mutually assured destruction. But he’s “better than Harry” because Andrew, a credibly accused rapist and human trafficker, is “loyal.” Yep, that about sums it up.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.