King Charles took the unprecedented step of stripping his brother of his Princely title earlier this month, but it’s a move that would likely have been unthinkable for Queen Elizabeth. Writing in his newly-released book, The Windsor Legacy, author Robert Jobson claims the devoted mother was “loyal to the end”, even after Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
“Andrew’s royal life was over, though he would not retreat quietly. The Queen stood by him, loyal to the end, even having him escort her at Westminster Abbey for the memorial service for Prince Philip in March 2022, a rare public moment for the prince,” Robert wrote. “In her final days, she kept him close, shielding him as palace insiders continued to push for his total exile.”
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For the Royal Family, every headline and scandal surrounding Andrew is a public issue, though as a mother Queen Elizabeth’s love for her son seemingly left her determined to stick by him regardless. She took certain steps in the face of the accusations levelled at the former Duke of York – allegations he has always vehemently denied.
In 2022 it was announced in a statement that Andrew’s military affiliations and royal patronages were being returned to his mother – with her “approval and agreement”. Yet he was still invited to Christmases at Sandringham House and, as Robert mentioned, took the prominent role of escorting Queen Elizabeth to a Service of Thanksgiving for Prince Philip.
It was King Charles who took the momentous step of firstly confirming Andrew would no longer use his Duke of York title and then initiating formal proceedings to remove his Princely title. A brother’s love is inevitably different to a mother’s and Robert writes that “with the Queen’s death [Andrew] lost his strongest ally”.
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The Windsor Legacy claims that “negotiations between the brothers [about Royal Lodge] became quite heated” after Queen Elizabeth passed away. Andrew supposedly “reminded” his older brother that their mother had given it to him to use and “he intended to stay put”.
No longer, though. As well as becoming Mr Mountbatten Windsor, it was also announced that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease”. Andrew will move to alternative accommodation now and who knows who the future residences of Royal Lodge will be.
Back when he became King, according to the royal author, His Majesty “even toyed with the idea that it would be a perfect residence for his wife, Camilla, should he predecease her”.
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Now Andrew is set to swap this Berkshire home for Norfolk, though it’s not known exactly where on the Sandringham estate he will live. The estate is privately owned by the monarch, unlike the Windsor estate and Buckingham Palace, for example, which belong to The Crown Estate.
A lot has changed for Andrew since Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022. With reports that Prince William was “not satisfied” with the removal of his uncle’s Duke of York title and that he could seek to exclude him from private and public royal events during his future reign, it could change even more.
