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For some reason, royalists have long been protecting Prince Andrew over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The two issues for the palace have drawn major headlines, but a family feud seems like a much easier issue to tackle than the Duke of York’s association with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But a royal expert is finally admitting that Prince Andrew’s alleged sex abuse case is much more troubling than Harry’s memoir, Spare.
Robert Hardman, author of The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, noted to The Daily Beast that the late Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Andrew, often said to be her favorite son, probably played into the relatively lax treatment in his case. “I’m sure she would have taken him at his word, as any mother would,” Hardman said. “You have to remember that lots of people have said lots of things about the royals over the years that have not turned out to be true, so it’s not surprising that for the royals, blood runs thicker than water.”
Without his mother’s protection, though, Andrew is going to have to face the reality that for King Charles III, “the institution trumps family loyalties.” Prince Andrew has to understand that “any return to public life is out of the question” forever. The king loves his brother, but “the relationship has never been super close, partly because of the difference in age.” Hardman added, “They are more than 10 years apart [Andrew is 63 and Charles is 75]. But there is a sense of kinship. They both went through hell in the nineties, with both of their marriages collapsing in a very public way at the same time.”
Even with Hardman’s admission, the palace doesn’t seem to be jumping through hoops to mend their relationship with Harry and Meghan right now — but the tide might be turning. Last fall, the Daily Mail called on Charles to end the feud by offering Harry protection when he visits the U.K. and giving him a safe place to stay. It’s the bare minimum they could do to make the Sussexes feel welcome. “There are enough rooms in Kensington Palace: let Harry and Meghan have a few so they have a safe and familiar place to stay,” writer Nadine Dorries said. “The children can get to know it – and it will give them a strong sense of their heritage.”
Instead, the royal family has preferred to side with Andrew with optics that don’t look that great amid the recent Epstein documents dump. It’s something that King Charles must rectify if he wants his reign to be a successful one. His first year was mired in nothing but controversy and people are starting to call out his glaring issues.
Before you go, click here to find out which tell-all books expose major royal family secrets.
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