When it comes to being a celebrity, public image is everything. So, when Prince Andrew‘s reputation was shattered because of his involvement with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, the royal was reportedly on a mission to make a comeback.
And, according to sources in the Daily Beast, the royal family is more on board with his plan than we initially assumed. “Andrew won’t ever have the same ceremonial role within the family, he is no longer and never will be a working royal. That is clear,” a friend of King Charles III told the outlet. “But he is part of the family. He is the King’s brother. He has not been found guilty of any crime and I think it’s fair to say that the King is making it clear that he won’t turn his back on his brother.”
So, with Charles somewhat compassionately not turning his back on Andrew, some key players of the royal family have been seemingly trying to reconcile with Andrew. Most recently, that was seen by the public when he was driven to a church in Balmoral by Prince William with Kate Middleton in the backseat.
The gesture was, of course, a calculated strategy from royal PR. “The family have been using the Prince and Princess of Wales to get them out of trouble a lot lately, and once again, they are doing the heavy lifting here, fixing problems not of their creation,” said historian and writer Andrew Lownie. “This was clearly a very important event, and William’s had to put aside his objections to agree to be in a car with him when they knew it was going to be filmed is an extraordinary development.”
Per Lownie, who wrote the bookDuchess of Windsor, the carpool moment was even more telling because Andrew and William’s relationship “has never been good” to start off with.
“Until now, the family have been trying to distance themselves from Andrew, but Sunday’s ballet suggests that there’s been a change of strategy. The question is, why?” Lownie continued. “Why have they apparently decided they need to be showing some sort of support for him and that they’re all in this together?”
According to the royal author the answer to those questions is simple: Andrew has been campaigning for his return and it’s finally working. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of his lobbying,” Lownie revealed. “Sunday’s car ride shows that he has clearly been quite successful.”
And although the royal family might be getting ready to forgive, it’s safe to say we, and the rest of the public, aren’t quite ready to forget the allegations against Andrew.
Click here to see celebrities who have been accused of sexual assault.
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