Royal biographer Andrew Lownie on the scandals shaking the House of Windsor.
Video / Herald Now
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie says the stripping of Andrew’s royal titles marks a watershed moment in the fall of the former prince, as calls to reopen an investigation resound into the walls of Buckingham Palace.
Speaking on Herald NOW this morning, Lownie – who has reported extensively on Andrew andhis relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – said the British public have been “baying for more blood” after the royals kept Andrew at arm’s length for years.
“I think if they’d done this much sooner – I mean, even two weeks ago when they issued the first statement – that the problem wouldn’t have expanded,” he told host Nadine Higgins.
“But we’ve now got lots of questions being asked about royal accountability and privilege, questions asked about their wealth, and more information has come out in the papers today about some of the financial affairs of both Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.”
Once revered as the late Queen’s favourite son, public pressure and MPs’ criticism over the “Andrew problem” finally boiled over, culminating in a damning statement issued on Friday by Buckingham Palace.
The statement acknowledged King Charles had “initiated a formal process” to remove Andrew’s royal and military titles and vacate him from the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge in Windsor, describing both actions as “necessary” censures given “he continues to deny the allegations against him”.
Calls to reopen an investigation into Andrew are gaining momentum in the UK. Photo / Getty Images
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
Now exiled to the Sandringham estate by his brother, Lownie told Higgins that Andrew had become “pretty much an outcast”.
“He’s been very publicly humiliated. Everything has now been stripped from him. He’s now lost his Vice Admiral, Honorary Vice Admiral of the Navy, and other things.
“And as I say, people are now calling for him to be investigated, including the former head of royal security and former head of the prosecution service here [in the UK].”
With the tide turning against Andrew, there is a prevailing sentiment that charges could soon be filed against the ex-prince, Lownie added.
“The royal family have distanced themselves. They clearly see what is happening. He’s on his own now, and I think that it is more likely that law enforcement who have looked at him in the past will do so again.
“Both in terms of his sex trafficking with Virginia Giuffre, but also the financial corruption that occurred when he was the trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.”
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.
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