In the end, it was a very modern downfall: an email led to a phone call, and the Duke of York was, on the face of it, no more.
Prince Andrew agreed to stop using his title in fraught negotiations last week, after decades of scandal suddenly
Prince Andrew and King Charles at Westminster Cathedral on September 16 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images
In the end, it was a very modern downfall: an email led to a phone call, and the Duke of York was, on the face of it, no more.
Prince Andrew agreed to stop using his title in fraught negotiations last week, after decades of scandal suddenly came to a head.
The King moved to persuade his brother to “do the right thing”, supported by his elder son and siblings.
Andrew was allowed to issue a statement saying he was acting out of duty, for family and country, in what the palace hopes will be enough to stave off growing public opprobrium of the mounting scandals to his name.
Some have already said it does not go far enough. It does not officially remove his Duke of York title, nor change his position in any constitutional sense.
Virginia Giuffre’s family would like him to lose his Prince title too. Even friends of Andrew fear it is another half-way gesture that prevents him ever clearing his name.
Why now, critics wonder, after everything?
The announcement came in the middle of an unholy trinity of problems: first a “tipping point” email which showed the former Duke of York misled the public; then the promise of Giuffre’s memoir out this week; and the timing of a trip to the Vatican the King desperately hopes will not be overshadowed.
The persistent headlines screaming “PRINCE ANDREW”, overshadowing the work of the Royal family, proved the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It was clear a week ago that the “Prince Andrew issue” was rapidly coming to a head.
News broke of an email sent by Prince Andrew to his friend Jeffrey Epstein, a year after he told the public he had cut all contact with him.
The message – “we’re in this together” – poured doubt over Andrew’s entire story of ending his friendship with the convicted sex trafficker and set alarm bells ringing.
But Buckingham Palace was still said to be “at a loss” over what to do about the King’s younger brother.
Already disgraced and without his HRH title, it was said there was little that could be done without enlisting Parliament.
Aides were loathe to do so, fearing it would take up to a year to push legislation through and mindful that the public may not think it a good use of MPs’ time. Instead, they let it be known, they were “exploring all options”.
If it was intended as a hint to Andrew to take the decision for himself, it did not immediately work.
On Wednesday local time, the King held his usual audience with the Prime Minister.
By Thursday, a new story about how Andrew had met a Chinese spymaster surfaced.
In the middle of Friday afternoon, there were rumours that the King was “considering” removing the Duke title or his cherished membership of the Order of the Garter.
If it was intended as a final bargaining chip to get Andrew’s statement demoting himself over the line, it worked.
Hours later, Buckingham Palace issued news, sent as a “Statement by Prince Andrew”, that he would “now go a step further” to stop using his title and honours.
“In discussion with the King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal family,” he conceded.
The King is understood to have taken the lead in persuading his brother.
Andrew’s 2011 email to Epstein, sources say, was the “tipping point” which exposed the “fundamental fault line” in the Prince’s story, exposing every other element of his defence.
“It was very much the King’s decision that the point had been reached,” said one source.
While the 2019 Newsnight debacle is reported to have seen him joined in “summits” with Princess Anne and Prince Edward over the Andrew question, this time it happened from afar.
The King had been in London and Scotland, communicating via aides and the telephone. There was no face-to-face meeting with Andrew last week.
The King and the Prince of Wales did not meet in person either, despite William being often said to want to take a tougher line with his uncle.
Having announced he will no longer use the Duke of York title, the Prince’s life remains otherwise little changed.
He still lives at Royal Lodge, and there is little appetite to push legislation through to formally remove his Dukedom if it can be avoided.
“It would take a long time to achieve,” one source explains. “This is an identical outcome.”
The palace believes Andrew will stick to it. He has not used his HRH title in the six years since he promised he would not, sources say.
One constitutional expert described it as a “palace comms triumph that has persuaded everyone that Prince Andrew has given up titles he hasn’t”.
The Royal family’s website will be updated to remove him from its list of working members, the palace has confirmed.
There will be more pressure to come. The co-author of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir is already booked on Newsnight on Monday, and the Chinese spy scandal shows no sign of abating, bringing with it serious questions about national security which spill far outside castle walls.
The test, as far as the palace is concerned, will come midweek.
As the King and Queen arrive at the Vatican, a source said, “it is imperative it goes well”.
The King and Pope will pray together for the first time since the Reformation, in what is described as a “once in a 500 year event”.
It is a personal mission for a King who wants to build bridges between the Catholic and Anglican churches, and - given it is a State visit – part of his role supporting the Government.
If the world’s eyes are on him, rather than on Prince Andrew’s latest news, the palace will chalk it up as a win.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.