At what point do you say enough is enough with Prince Andrew’s punishment – he’s the King’s brother after all, say pros
KING Charles’ “punishment” of Prince Andrew raises the question of when it will ever end, according to a royal expert.
Disgraced Andrew was stripped of his roles and patronages after forking out millions to settle Virginia Giuffre’s case against him.
King Charles recently put pressure on the shamed Duke of York – warning life will be “uncomfortable” if he doesn’t vacate his 30-room mansion.
Hello Magazine’s Royal Editor Emily Nash spoke on the Royal Exclusive Show.
She told The Sun’s Royal Editor, Matt Wilkinson: “I think what we’ve seen from the King, is he has kept the Duke of York as part of the family, and the family events.
“If he’s taking part in things behind closed doors it doesn’t particularly bother me.
“This is a family, this is his brother.”
Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson added: “And he has been punished in quite a few ways, he’s stripped him of all his roles, patronages, and he can never be a working royal.
“And, he will probably end up getting kicked out of Royal Lodge.”
“Yes exactly, so at one point do you say that’s enough,” said Ms Nash.
“But I am glad he wasn’t there,” added The Sun’s Royal Editor.
Ms Nash replied: “Yes, I don’t think that would be a good look.”
Meanwhile, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond previously said on the Royal Exclusive Show that Andrew is “too pompous for his own good”, and will never return.
She said: “I don’t think there would be jeers from the crowd – but he’s not going to come back to any kind of public role.
“And I think that’s entirely correct. He’s always been a very arrogant man in my view.
“I’ve met him a few times over the years and he was pompous – he said he was too honourable for his own good.
“Well, I think he was too pompous for his own good actually. There is no place for him now among the working royals.”
It comes after the King, 75, redoubled efforts this year to evict his brother, who shares the home with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, with insiders branding the stand-off the “siege of Royal Lodge”.
'There is no way back'
Prince Andrew's reputation is damaged beyond repair and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain's top PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs East of Eden PR agency, called the shamed royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop – a Netflix movie based on the 2019 interview he gave to Newsnight.
Nick said: “There is no way back for him.
“I think you know this perpetual idea that he could still be back. Nobody cares. He hasn’t got fans.
“There’s nobody out there who’s going ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not one single person. I think he has to realise that.
“But I think it’s going to take a long, long time for him to actually understand. It’s very deluded.
“In my opinion, the best thing that he could do is just enjoy his life. He’s got gorgeous daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a lovely house.
“Just live a quiet life.”
Reflecting on the interview five years ago – the fallout of which saw Andrew step back from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” – Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have urged him not to do it.
He said: “If I had been advising him, I would say, go quiet, be quiet, just go to ground. You know you’re a prince.
“Enjoy the life that you lead, but do not open this can of worms, because that’s what it is.
“There was no admission that a relationship with somebody like Epstein was terribly toxic.
“There was no idea that there were loads of victims of trafficking whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein.
“He didn’t seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything but positive.
“I think his worst gaffe was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, for not realising that he’s actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who is going to ask him questions which he might not like.
“But I think what this has done is really shown how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
“Read the room. He’s never read a room at all.”
Palace sources say Charles, who is funding Andy’s life, could “reconsider the levels of support he is willing to provide” if he refuses all offers of a new home.
The shamed Duke of York, who will never return to public duty after paying millions to settle an abuse case with a Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking, has refused for 18 months the King’s pleas to move out.
The Sun exclusively revealed Andrew had rejected the chance to move into Frogmore Cottage last year after Harry and Meghan were served with eviction.
Andrew is still refusing to budge pointing out that he is in possession of a 75-year lease.
Insiders have also claimed His Majesty is said to be unwilling to keep paying out of his own pocket to fund Andrew’s lavish lifestyle.
The disgraced Duke has kept out of the public eye since he caused controversy leading the family into a service for late Greek King Constantine at Windsor Castle in February.
But last month he was seen casually playing golf in good spirits with pals in Scotland.
However, it is still unknown how the father-of-two will finance his life now he can no longer work.
It is unclear whether he received any major windfall from his late mother’s will when she passed away in September 2022.