On Wednesday, the Sun newspaper splashed the headline: “His Final Disgrace,” the Daily Mail called it the “Duke’s Final ‘£10 million’ Humiliation” and The Daily Star declared him a “Royal wrong ‘un.”
Neither Andrew nor Giuffre would comment beyond the settlement statement filed with the court, but royal commentators conclude that the prince had to stop the drip-drip of salacious revelations in the Queen’s platinum jubilee year, which is meant to be about celebrating — not berating — the monarchy.
The other reason for the relentless headlines lies in the fact that Buckingham Palace isn’t dousing the firestorm either, instead redirecting queries to the duke and his legal team. The Queen had already showed how far she was willing to go to distance the institution from her son by stripping him of his remaining military titles and roles last month.
With the case over, the lingering queries surround how Andrew is funding the deal, which British media estimates is upwards of £10 million ($13.6 million). More specifically, the bones of contention are over whether the Queen helped foot the bill, and if she did, was public money involved?
A flurry of politicians, academics and commentators are demanding transparency over the financial sources behind the settlement.
Some have speculated that the Queen and Prince Charles could have contributed using their personal incomes from their private estates and investments. The handling of those finances doesn’t need to be publicly revealed, though they do choose to declare some of it.
Andrew may have his own money or may have gone to the private sector to secure the funds. At this point, it is just not clear and in the vacuum a narrative of possible wrongdoing is emerging. Until it’s made clear where the money has come from, the whole family’s finances will be under scrutiny.
Labour member of parliament Andy McDonald told the BBC he would be raising the issue in the House of Commons, saying: “We don’t know the precise figure but there is a risk that this will be at the public’s expense so we need to have that resolved. We need to know exactly where this money is coming from.”
Royal finances are notoriously confusing because both public and private money play into them, but the palace does go to great lengths to clarify how taxpayer funds are used. Now it is under pressure to do so sooner rather than later as the questions over how Andrew covered his substantial legal costs will only get louder.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?
Smiling Queen gets on with the job as sons’ woes rumble on.
Elizabeth II put on a brave face as scandals continue to roil her children this week. She completed her first in-person engagement since returning to Windsor on Wednesday. The occasion was also her first appearance since her family was caught up in a Covid scare.
In a bright floral-patterned dress, the monarch held an audience with the outgoing Defence Services Secretary, Rear Admiral James Macleod, and his successor, Major General Eldon Millar.
The Queen’s health has been closely scrutinized since late last year when she retreated from public events on advice from doctors to rest after an overnight hospital stay for an undisclosed reason. Fresh concern was renewed in the past few days as multiple family members self-isolated after testing positive for the virus. However, Wednesday’s event would suggest the Queen has avoided contracting the virus despite seeing her son Charles “recently.”
The Queen, who this month marked the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, appeared in good spirits throughout the engagement. Standing in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle, she called out “ha, I’m here!” with a chuckle as the two secretaries entered the room. Asked how she was, the Queen quipped: “Well, as you can see, I can’t move,” while gesturing to her leg, with her walking stick in hand. A royal source told CNN the Queen is believed to have been feeling slightly stiff rather than injured or unwell.
The secretaries joked about the palace’s tight security presence, revealing they had struggled to get past her dog Candy outside.
“I noticed you’ve got Candy keeping guard because, as we came down the corridor, she was not going to let us get anywhere near you,” Macleod said. “She gave a little growl as we came in,” Millar added.
The Queen responded in surprise, “Oh really? Did she? She doesn’t normally growl.”
The in-person audience was the only face-to-face engagement the Queen conducted in a busy week of royal duties. On Thursday, she virtually received ambassadors from Finland and Jordan, having held a privy council meeting and her weekly phone call with the Prime Minister in addition to other virtual meetings earlier in the week.
A royal source had told us last week that the Queen would be resuming her regular royal duties upon returning to Windsor, with her diary expected to continue as a mix of both virtual and in-person events.
DID YOU KNOW?
ROYAL TEA BREAK
Harry enjoys star-studded Super Bowl.
IN THE ROYAL DIARY
Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge will visit Copenhagen next Tuesday for a two-day working visit with her organization, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. It’s the first time Kate has traveled abroad for work relating to her foundation. During the visit, she’s expected to “spend time learning about how Denmark has created an enabling culture for early childhood development, specifically how it has promoted infant mental wellbeing alongside physical health, and how it harnesses the power of nature, relationships and playful learning in the first five years of life,” according to Kensington Palace. She will also be meeting with Danish royals, with Queen Margrethe II due to welcome the duchess officially on the second day of the trip. Like Britain’s Queen, the Danish monarch is also celebrating a jubilee this year — her 50th anniversary on the throne.
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