King Charles didn’t take long to show that he was now in charge in the U.K. to start the year 2023. The Sun says that the former prince has stopped his brother and a member of the Royal Family from going to Buckingham Palace. The news source says that Prince Andrew can’t have an office in the building anymore and can’t use the address.
“Any presence at the Palace is officially over,” a Palace source told the news outlet. “The King has made it clear. He isn’t a working royal. He’s on his own.”
Andrew’s part in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, which included a settlement in a U.S. civil sex assault lawsuit that paid Virginia Giuffre millions of pounds, led to this choice. She said she was a supposed victim of Epstein’s sex trafficking business. In 2019, she told BBC’s Panorama that she was trafficked for Prince Andrew, which led to the court’s ruling and public opinion turning against the royal. As part of the deal, Andrew did not say that he was at fault.
King Charles chose this after taking Prince Andrew’s job as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards and giving it to Camilla, the Queen Consort. The Duke also lost his 24-hour, £3 million-a-year protection. From now on, he will have to pay for his own PR team. The Sun says that Andrew still owns the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, which has 31 bedrooms, but this could change in the future.
One thing is for sure: the Royals’ Christmas Eve dinner will be a bit more awkward than in years past. Sarah Ferguson, the Duke’s ex-wife, will also be there for the first time in 30 years. She has been in the news since Queen Elizabeth died because of how well she cared for her corgis.
This weekend, King Charles will give his first Christmas Day address. This is one of the royal tasks he has to do before he becomes king in May. Charles and Camilla will be crowned King and Queen Consort. The formal site gives a good idea of what will happen in May.
The official royal website said, “The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.” On Saturday, May 6, 2023, His Majesty The King will be crowned.