Prince William is in a “power struggle” with the King as they work out a future for Prince Andrew, according to an expert. The disgraced Duke of York was welcomed into the Royal Family fold to celebrate Easter with them at Windsor Castle despite recently dragging the King into an alleged Chinese spy scandal.
It comes as despite being forced to stand back from royal duties more than five years ago, Andrew was assured by his older brother that when he ascended the throne, he would not be shut out of family gatherings. Andrew joined the King and Queen at the service along with other members of the Firm last weekend but missing were the Prince and Princess of Wales, who skipped the service to spend time together as a family in Norfolk.
William is understood to be reluctant to spend time with his uncle Andrew, 65, at any family gathering. And speaking on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, the Mirror’s Royal Editor Russell Myers explained: “Is it a convenient truth that Andrew was going, William has no time for him?
“And indeed, William was overruled by the King when he said, I mean, William was absolutely influential in banishing him at that time when he was forced to step back from duties. But when the King decided after the Queen’s death, he was going to be brought back into the family fold, William said absolutely not and the King overruled him.
“So we have this sort of interesting power struggle going on and I imagine you know that hopefully in a long time in the future when William is King, he [Andrew] will be nowhere to be seen around the family.” The Prince of Wales was instrumental in Andrew’s banishment from royal life, after his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019 which exposed his relationship with the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A royal source told the Mirror earlier this week: “William has no time for his uncle. This Easter was about spending time with his own family, but he would far prefer a situation where he doesn’t have to spend time with him.”
The King overruled William over cutting Andrew adrift, by inviting him to Balmoral in the summer of 2023 to spend time with him and the extended family. William was pictured driving his uncle to Crathie Kirk church one Sunday, with the Princess of Wales in the back seat. Sources said Andrew was ‘cookahoop’ at no longer being an outcast.
But he soon incurred the wrath of the King and senior palace officials over his refusal to vacate his 30-room Royal Lodge mansion, when offered a smaller home on the Windsor estate. Andrew was then last December identified as having an “unusual degree of trust” with Yang Tengbo, a Chinese businessman banned from entering Britain over alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
A senior royal source said: “The Duke seems to be in the habit of being a significant contributor of headaches for the family and many have run out of patience with him.”
Meanwhile, Andrew has told close friends he is “going nowhere” and told the King and the Crown Estate who own Royal Lodge, that he has a “cast iron lease” that he signed for 75 years in 2002 amid a row over whether he should remain at the property, which is in desperate need of renovations. Work did start on the roof and crumbling facade of the property last year but has since ground to a halt.
Now sources say he is looking to project manage renovations himself and even taking on some of the landscaping in a bid to save money. One royal source said: “The Duke has been walking around the estate a lot recently, speaking to staff and asking for tips on managing the grounds.
“The whole place has fallen into disrepair and needs a lot of attention. “He’s been asking about different kinds of trees and shrubs and whether it would be possible to move or relocate certain trees. He’s certainly got a spring in his step and is a lot cheerier of late, which is surprising given everything he has going on.”
The Royal Beat is available on True Royalty TV.
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