In a new documentary broadcast on Thursday 20 April in England, new information has been revealed about Prince Andrew’s resignation from his titles in January 2022, with the report stating that the Queen would have liked things to have gone differently, but had no other choice.
Was Elizabeth II “forced” to remove her favourite son from office? That’s what a new multi-part documentary about the Queen, The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, which aired on Thursday 20 April on ITVX in the UK, suggests. In its fifth episode, subtitled Heirs and Spares, the documentary looks back at Prince Andrew’s fall from grace, particularly after his disastrous interview with journalist Emily Maitliss in November 2019 for the BBC.
For a while, Prince Andrew was on the sidelines of the royal family, hoping that events would settle down, but he finally had to face the facts on 14 January 2022 and gave back his honorary and military titles. He was also allowed to keep his title of HRH, His Royal Higness, but was forbidden to use it in public.
The documentary says that this decision was a real “sacrifice” for the Queen, who felt a certain loyalty to her son. But faced with the insistent pressure of the accusations and the refusal of Virginia Giuffre’s request to dismiss the civil sexual assault case against Prince Andrew in New York, the Queen had no choice but to capitulate and, in a gesture of self-sacrifice, agreed to the withdrawal of the Duke of York’s titles. A gesture symbolised in the documentary by the image of the Queen on her balcony at her platinum jubilee in June 2022, where she was surrounded only by her son Charles and his wife Camilla, and Catherine Princess Of Wales and William and their children.
Prince Andrew: his attempt at rehabilitation with Charles III
Since the death of Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew has tried to rehabilitate himself and his image with Charles III. After asking his brother if he could reuse his royal title in a rare way, and then reappearing at public events with the rest of the Firm, Prince Andrew still seems to be clinging to his former privileges, wishing to remain in his royal lodge, even though the King has ordered him to leave it to join a less important one.
In any case, Charles III has already warned his brother that he will not be an active member of the coronation ceremony and will not be allowed to join the rest of his entourage in the traditional balcony salute. Prince Andrew is therefore still a long way from regaining the prestige of his former position.
Photo credits: AGENC