Royals force Prince Andrew to cancel junket to Bahrain
Prince Andrew attempts to sidestep the Queen’s edict that he stand down from royal duties.
Prince Andrew has been forced to cancel a trip to Bahrain on the weekend after failing to bypass the Queen’s edict that he step down from royal duties.
The Duke of York, 59, had been intending to attend a Pitch@Palace event at a luxury hotel in Bahrain on Saturday night until a crisis meeting at Buckingham Palace late Thursday.
Andrew wanted to continue with the trip even though he had publicly declared on Wednesday that he was standing aside from public duties for the foreseeable future.
It’s unclear what caused Andrew to realise attending the Bahrain event would have made a mockery of his midweek statement, but it’s believed Prince Charles, who is on tour in New Zealand, and other senior Royals have stressed he has to take the Jeffrey Epstein furore seriously.
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Charles, along with Prince William, had earlier convinced the Queen to cast her second son adrift from Royal duties so that his friendship with a disgraced billionaire pedophile would not irrevocably damage the Monarchy.
Andrew however, believed that he could still attend private events and functions relating to his “business’’ work and had differentiated them from his public activities.
A senior royal source told the Evening Standard that Charles had told their mother: “This is about protecting the institution of the monarchy itself’’, adding that “swift action’’ was required.
“There could be only one conclusion… The Duke of York (Andrew) had to withdraw from the fray and from public life. It is very sad. Obviously, both the Queen and the prince [Charles] love Andrew — but the health of the monarchy is too important to risk.’’
Universities and charities were continuing to distance themselves from Andrew in the wake of the scandal which continues to be headline news. Scores of supporters and sponsors have pulled out of Andrew’s Pitch@Palace initiative.
One of Epstein’s sex slaves, Virginia Roberts Giuffre tweeted: “Bullying survivors and protecting the predators is a thing of the past. Time to evolve and expose these evil monsters for what they are!’’
While Andrew was supposed to be confined to attending royal family events, it is uncertain if he will continue to receive an undisclosed amount of allowance from the Queen. The fallout could extend to other members of Andrew’s family with the ongoing roles of his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice now in the spotlight.
The ongoing royal drama, sparked when Andrew failed to acknowledge Epstein’s victims and showed no regret for his friendship with the sex trafficker in a BBC interview on Saturday night, has also dominated the election campaign.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday in Bedfordshire when asked if it was right for Andrew to step back from public life: “All I can say is that it is very important that all the victims of Jeffrey Epstein get justice and the law must be done and must be seen to be done.”
British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said nobody was above the law and anyone who had done something wrong should be open to investigation, when asked about whether Andrew should make a statement.
“The revelations about Epstein are appalling and I think we should start with the principle that there some victims here — desperate young women who were abominably and appallingly treated,” Mr Corbyn said.
“Nobody is above the law and anybody who has committed something should be open to questioning and investigation about it.”
US lawyers for victims of Epstein urged Prince Andrew to co-operate with investigators, insisting he was “simply not credible” in an interview on his relationship with the late financier.
I’ve been working with my five Epstein victim clients for months,” US lawyer Lisa Bloom tweeted on Thursday. “Prince Andrew was simply not credible in his (BBC) interview.”
The royal visit of New Zealand resumes on Friday, when Charles and Camilla will join Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for a day of outings in Christchurch. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will focus on the city’s rejuvenating efforts following recent disasters.
After a morning visit to a marae — or Maori meeting house — the trio will head to Cashmere High School, which lost three students in the March 15 mosque attacks, to meet with staff and pupils. They will then attend a reception at Christ Church Cathedral, the striking city centre building almost damaged beyond repair in the 2011 earthquakes and since then has become Christchurch’s beacon of regeneration.
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