‘For Prince Andrew, his life as a working royal is over’: Royal expert says King Charles has no plans for his brother in the new ‘slimmed down’ monarchy and is focusing on his heirs instead
- Royal expert Nick Bullen said that Prince Andrew’s life as working royal is ‘over’
- The Duke of York stepped back from his royal duties after details of his ties to US financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged
- King Charles reported to be planning a ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy during reign
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
A royal expert has claimed that King Charles III has no plans for Prince Andrew to play a role in the future of the British monarchy following the Queen’s death.
Nick Bullen, the co-founder of True Royalty TV, said that Prince Andrew’s life as a working royal is ‘well and truly over’.
The Queen’s second son returned to public life after the death of Elizabeth II earlier this month, after previously stepping back from royal duties after details of his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.
But King Charles is widely reported to be planning a ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy during his reign, which would mean he could be focusing on his heirs – rather than his disgraced brother.
‘For Prince Andrew, his life as a working royal is well and truly over,’ Bullen told Fox News Digital. ‘We won’t be seeing very much more of him in the coming weeks and months.
‘I don’t believe that he is part of the king’s plan for the future of the monarchy. The King has been very clear in saying that he wants a slimmed-down monarchy.’
Bullen added: ‘The King is focusing on immediate heirs. Having [his grandchildren] Prince George and Princess Charlotte as part of the funeral was a very clear message – this is the future.’
A royal expert has claimed that King Charles III has no plans for Prince Andrew to play a role in the future of the British monarchy following the Queen’s death
King Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York depart the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
Bullen said that there is no longer a role for Prince Andrew in the monarchy, adding that the Duke of York will not be given any of his military titles again after he was stripped of them following revelations about his ties to Epstein emerged.
Buckingham Palace announced in January that the Prince would be stripped of all his military titles and patronages. It is understood King Charles was instrumental in influencing the decision.
Bullen said: ‘A role for Prince Andrew just doesn’t exist anymore. He won’t be given any of his military titles again. He’s not going to be a working royal again. So I think we won’t be seeing very much of him on the public stage.’
A spokesperson for Prince Andrew declined to comment on Bullen’s claims, telling MailOnline: ‘We won’t be commenting on the utterances of every self-proclaimed “royal expert”.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for King Charles for comment.
Following the revelations of Prince Andrew’s connections to Epstein and his disastrous Newsnight interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis, he faced a US lawsuit by Virgina Roberts – who now goes by her married name of Giuffre.
As pressure and bad publicity continued to pile on Duke of York over the New York civil sex assault case, it was announced in January 2021 that the Prince would lose his royal patronages so he could fight the allegations as a ‘private citizen’.
Despite vowing to fight Ms Roberts’ allegations directed against him in the civil case filed in New York – and repeatedly protesting his innocence – Andrew agreed to pay £12million to settle the case before it reached a jury.
Virginia Giuffre (centre) opened a civil sex assault case against Andrew in New York. Pictured right is Ghislaine Maxwell, who procured girls for sex predator Jeffrey Epstein
Pictured: Prince Andrew and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in New York following Epstein’s prison term in 2011
Prince Andrew said he would make a ‘substantial donation’ to her charity supporting victims’ rights and also praised her ‘bravery’, saying he had ‘never intended’ to malign her character.
Prince Andrew was briefly allowed to wear his military uniform last week as he and his siblings stood vigil next to their mother’s coffin as she lay in state in Westminster Hall.
Prince Andrew also greeted mourners at Balmoral shortly after the death of Her Majesty as they gathered outside the castle where the Queen passed away to lay flowers and pay tribute.
The King allowed his brother to wear his ceremonial military uniform at the Queen’s vigil as ‘an act of kindness’, according to a palace source.
Sex abuse victims of Epstein were reported to be ‘frustrated’ by Andrew’s return to public life, with some accusing him of trying to ‘rehabilitate’ his public image.
Andrew last appeared publicly before the Queen’s death in March during a memorial service to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who died last year.
The prince arrived with the Queen from Windsor and supported her as she used a walking stick to get to her seat.
He then helped her back out of the church and into the Royal limousine at the end of the service.
It was later reported that Prince William and King Charles had raised concerns ‘on more than once occasion’ about the optics of allowing the duke to escort the 96-year-old monarch down to her seat at such a well-publicised event.
The father and son were ‘absolutely united’ that it was ‘unnecessary’ for him to have the high profile role, according to The Mirror.
There was surprise in March when Andrew was given a frontline role at the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey
But their protests were overruled by The Queen, who made it her ‘wish and final decision’ in choosing for Andrew to have a special role on the occasion.
Yet Andrew was then banned from the Buckingham Palace balcony for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, an act which royal experts said proved there was ‘no way back’ for the disgraced duke.
In 2011, it emerged that Andrew was friends with American financier Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Photos surfaced of him with his arm around Mrs Giuffre, previously known as Virginia Roberts, who claimed that Epstein employed her as a masseuse but exploited her while a teenage minor.
The Duke was also pictured walking in New York’s Central Park with Epstein in December 2010, a year after Epstein’s release from prison, and this led him to quit his role as a trade envoy.
In 2013, Andrew was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, but Britain’s pre-eminent scientific institution faced unprecedented dissent from members over the move, with one professor describing the Duke as an ‘unsavoury character’.
Meanwhile, an explosive new biography has claimed that Andrew secretly plotted with Princess Diana and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to try to prevent Charles becoming King and allow Prince William to take the throne with the Duke of York as Regent.
Andrew is also alleged to have ‘lobbied’ the Queen and campaigned against the marriage between Charles and Camilla, now King and Queen Consort, telling his mother that she was not trustworthy.
Prince Andrew thanked mourners for their good wishes outside Balmoral Castle, where the Queen passed away earlier this month
Angela Levin’s new book on the life of Camilla, serialised in the Telegraph, claims that the Duke of York was ‘very nasty’ to her and conspired with Princess Diana to prevent the Queen’s eldest son from becoming King.
Under Andrew’s alleged plan, William would have been lined up for the throne with Charles pushed out and Andrew made Regent if the Queen had died before William was 18.
Citing a ‘senior insider’, Ms Levin writes that the Duke of York ‘plotted’ with Diana to ‘push Prince Charles aside’, with the aim of Prince Andrew becoming ‘Regent to Prince William’.
‘Andrew lobbied very hard with the hope that Charles would not become king when his mother died, and that William would wear the crown’, she said.
Ms Levin added the Prince ‘lobbied very hard’ to try and prevent his older brother from taking to the throne.
A ‘senior insider’ at the palace is said to have told Ms Levin: ‘When Diana was alive, through her friendship with Andrew’s wife Sarah, [Duchess of York] she plotted with Andrew to try to push Prince Charles aside so Prince Andrew could become Regent to Prince William, who was then a teenager.
‘They were dark and strange times, where paranoia became reality, and this was a worry.
‘His behaviour was very, very negative and extremely unpleasant to Queen [Elizabeth], who disagreed. I was told it was one of the rare occasions he didn’t get his way.
‘Nonetheless, he was apparently very angry that he couldn’t rule the country in some way. He remained so hostile to Camilla’s emergence and acceptance that it’s doubtful it has ever been forgiven.’
Buckingham Palace and representatives for the Duke of York have been contacted for comment.
Ms Levin also wrote about the Duke’s hostility to Charles’ marriage to Camilla, claiming Andrew was ‘poisonous’ and ‘very nasty’ about her to the late Queen Elizabeth.
The insider said: ‘He tried to persuade the Queen to block Charles marrying Camilla by being quite poisonous, mean, unhelpful and very nasty about Camilla.’
These claims allegedly included that Camilla was insufficiently aristocratic and was untrustworthy.
In 1998, when Charles turned 50, a party was thrown but the Queen and Prince Philip declined in case Camilla was there.
Camilla’s close friend Lucia Santa Cruz said: “When Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, she used to go to Balmoral with him and join the Royal family. They got on marvellously well with her… But when the marriage failed and she was with Prince Charles, she was rejected and got all the blame, which was so unfair’.
The Duke of York and King Charles have reportedly had a strained relationship over the years, which has worsened dramatically since Prince Andrew’s ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.
When Buckingham Palace announced in January that the Prince would be stripped of all his military titles and patronages, and would defend his sex abuse case against Virginia Giuffre as a private citizen, it was understood the now-King had been instrumental in influencing the decision.
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