Prince William has long clashed with his uncle over the latter’s links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and alleged sexual relationship with Virginia Giuffre. Andrew vehemently denies any wrongdoing.
The Prince of Wales has reportedly taken an uncompromising stance against his uncle and any possible return to public duties; however, on one occasion, his plans were overruled by his father, King Charles.
In the new book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, which was written by the Daily Mirror‘s royal editor, Russell Myers, Russell claims that William wanted to take a very firm stance against Andrew following the settling of Virginia’s civil suit against him.
The moment came ahead of William and his wife, the Princess of Wales, touring the Caribbean in 2022. Russell wrote: “The backdrop of the tour, however, would not be a positive one for the royal family. The turn of the year into 2022 brought two other huge distractions. The Duke of York was fighting a civil lawsuit in the United States brought by Virginia Giuffre, while Harry announced he was to challenge the Metropolitan Police’s decision to strip him of his taxpayer-funded security when returning to the UK.
“Both were seen as extraordinarily risky moves, for hugely different reasons. Talks gathered at pace concerning Andrew’s ‘ultimate gamble’ of demanding to be tried by a jury in the case. In private, William again voiced his concerns to his father that his disgraced uncle should seek to settle the case to avoid further scandal. The duke would eventually choose to settle with Giuffre for £12 million on 14 February, £2 million of which was set as a donation to her personal charity for sex-abuse victims.”
Russell continued: “Regardless of Andrew’s vehement denials of the allegations that he assaulted Giuffre, William and Charles agreed that he should never be allowed to return to public duties. One palace insider told how William went even further, suggesting his uncle should not be welcomed to any event with the royal family, which was overruled by the Prince of Wales [Charles’ title at the time].
“While he was forced at the time to respect his father’s will in not completely exiling his uncle, William was privately adamant that when he became king, the Duke of York would have absolutely no place within the royal fold, publicly or otherwise.”
Over the past few months, Andrew has been stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his former home of Royal Lodge. Charles made the decision following further revelations about how Andrew remained in contact with Jeffrey Epstein.
William’s animosity towards Andrew
Appearing on HELLO!’s A Right Royal podcast, Andrew Lownie, who wrote Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, surmised that William would take a “ruthless” approach to his uncle when he becomes king.
He said: “He is certainly much more ruthless in dealing with Andrew, and of course, as the precedent, the Duke of Windsor attended neither the wedding of the Queen [Elizabeth II] nor the [1953] coronation.”
© Getty ImagesAfter William and Kate publicly responded to the publication of further details in the Epstein Files, a source told HELLO!: “Everyone knows William’s feelings about his uncle. He’s never had a close relationship with him.”
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