King Charles does not want shamed brother Prince Andrew “to come out of the freezer,” aides have told the Sunday Times.
This would appear to scotch Andrew’s hopes of a way back to public life following both his disastrous TV interview telling all on his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein—and his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who said Andrew had sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was a minor and being trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has always denied the accusations.
However, the plan to eject Andrew from Royal Lodge in Windsor seems to have been nixed, the paper reports today. A royal source said, “Andrew is more of a long-term problem than Harry and Meghan. It feels like more stuff is going to come out on Epstein and there are still unexploded bombs there.”
The Sunday Times also reports that Charles feels “reassured” that the public have come down on the royals’ side after son Prince Harry’s attacks on him and the rest of the family in TV interviews and his explosive memoir Spare.
A friend to whom the King turned for advice told the Times: “He has done the right thing to rise above it and carry on with the work of the monarchy, which provides a welcome and stark contrast to what happens on the west coast of America. It’s all very sad, but it also mirrors what happens in a lot of families, so it humanizes him. What’s clear is the side the public has come down on, and that’s reassuring to him.”
The Times’ report is an extensively reported scorecard on Charles’ first year as king. There is apparently “quiet satisfaction” in Charles’ court that he hasn’t found the job too “demanding” and “suffocating” as Princess Diana said he might in her Panorama interview of almost 30 years ago. However, he has been “surprised at the increased workload”—which also shows that Diana was also kind of right.
“They are always cheered to be cheered, particularly with the reputational challenges they’ve had over the years.”
— Friend of King Charles
A close friend told the paper of Charles: “He seems very content and happy, having mourned the loss of his mother, he is settled. His destiny has arrived and he has embraced it.”
Charles has decided to be a “steady-as-she-goes” monarch, and not a radical as some expected, given his active involvement in the world of politics predating his ascending to the throne.
“He seems really happy and comfortable in his own skin, which hasn’t always been the case,” a friend told the Sunday Times. “There was understandable caution in terms of how the public would receive him. Would he enjoy the role; would it hinder him in what he wants to do?
Even though there were times in his life when he’s wanted more media attention, he had no idea how he’d cope when he had the full blast of it—but the more he sees of the public and the more he sees the public turning out to cheer him and the queen, he sees there is a will for him to succeed. They are always cheered to be cheered, particularly with the reputational challenges they’ve had over the years.”
Queen Camilla is “integral” to Charles’ positive state of mind, a source close to the king told the paper. “I think the red boxes and [extra] duties have come as an unexpected burden on his time. The queen is absolutely integral.
Without her you’d be looking at a very different person, in terms of his happiness, which is vital to the success of the whole mission. He’s got the queen by his side who can make him laugh like nobody else, who can reassure him things are going well, who can humanize him, particularly at a time of immense stress and strain when he lost his mother and was suddenly sovereign, red boxes overflowing. To have the companion in whom you have complete faith and trust makes that burden a bit lighter.”
However, Charles is “impatient” over the “checks and balances” he faces as monarch, which he sees as impediments to getting things done. But an aide says there is caution in case of a “misstep” which could “set the whole narrative off on the wrong course.”
A source close to Charles told the Sunday Times: “Climate, community and culture are at the heart of what he wants to be seen leading on now—with climate the most important to him. The goal is to be a world leader in those areas, without breaking his constitutional role.”
“The country is struggling on so many fronts and big changes within the monarchy might not chime well with the times.”
— Royal source
One friend though said this intentionally restrained reign means Charles “needs to be careful he doesn’t end up being just a caretaker king.” His first big personal project as monarch will be a national initiative tackling food waste.
A source added: “When he was younger, he would have been quite a reforming king but he’s taken it on at a fractious time for the nation, with political divisions, economic hardships and uncertain times ahead.
The country is struggling on so many fronts and big changes within the monarchy might not chime well with the times. I think Charles realizes that the main changemaker will be William, who will have more license to do it [as monarch] and Charles has decided to be the ‘steady-as-we-go’ monarch, providing the stability and continuity the country needs now.”
An aide said Charles’ definition of a successful mission, one year since taking on the number one job: “To make the nations and the Commonwealth proud of the King and to make the King proud of himself. To uphold the best of tradition reflecting the Britain of today, he knows that not everything can stay the same forever.”
Which all sounds vague and imprecise—and perhaps exceedingly tone-deaf when some Commonwealth countries have made clear their desire to leave the grouping, jettison the British monarch as their head of state, while also wanting the royal family to address the monarchy’s historic connections to racism, slavery, and colonialism.
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