Royalist
Sick King
Charles Can’t Control Prince Andrew and Prince William
POWERLESS
Prince
Andrew successfully defied the king in refusing to move out of Royal Lodge. Now
Prince William sets out his plans for a monarchy with more “empathy” and
“impact.”
Tom Sykes
European
Editor at Large
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sick-king-charles-cant-control-prince-andrew-and-prince-william/
Updated Nov.
10 2024 10:27AM EST /
Published
Nov. 10 2024 8:39AM EST
Elderly and
sick king revealed as powerless
Cancer-struck
King Charles looked an isolated monarch Sunday as he attended a pivotal
veterans’ memorial event in London without his wife, Queen Camilla, who is
fighting a chest infection, after a series of casual humiliations inflicted by
his brother, Prince Prince Andrew, and his son, Prince William.
William, in
an intervention that would have been unthinkable before the king‘s cancer
diagnosis, set out plans for a dramatic change of tone in his reign, implicitly
criticizing Charles, in an astonishing blow to the authority of the
cancer-struck monarch.
The contrast
between William’s and his father’s fortunes was made all the clearer by the
triumphant presence of Kate Middleton.
Britain's
Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the
Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London on November 10, 2024. Remembrance
Sunday is an annual commemoration held on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day,
November 11, the anniversary of the end of the First World War and services
across
Charles was
already smarting from his brother, Andrew, comprehensively winning the
so-called “Siege of Royal Lodge” this weekend. Andrew, who was kicked out of
the royal family over sex assault allegations, has successfully defied his
brother’s attempts to eject him from his palatial home, Royal Lodge Charles
threw in the towel this weekend after a two-year whispering campaign, the
existence and ultimate failure of which has inevitably served to make him look
weak, politically obtuse, and powerless.
Charles cut
a lonely figure Sunday as he led Remembrance events in London. The impression
of vulnerability was starkly exaggerated by the absence of Camilla by his side.
Palace
sources have insisted there is no cause for alarm and said she will be back on
duty next week. However, the diagnosis has done little to project an image of
monarchical strength, especially given an emotional reaction Camilla had when
they were on tour in Samoa, after Charles said he hoped “to survive” long
enough to visit the region again. Palace sources have said she was laughing
because of a technical snafu, but pictures suggested a different story.
Now, in an
astonishingly explicit reminder of the collapse of discipline and the
pre-succession era which the monarchy has entered since Charles announced he
had cancer, William, 42, fresh off the triumph of his Earthshot Awards in South
Africa, openly discussed his vision for changing the monarchy with the Sunday
Times royal correspondent, Roya Nikkhah, saying he was going to “do it
differently, for my generation.”
He added:
“I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. So it’s more
about impact, philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.”
He said:
“I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well because I really care about
what I do. It helps impact people’s lives and I think we could do with some
more empathetic leadership around the world. So that’s what I’m trying to
bring, that’s what Catherine is trying to bring as well.”
Charles laid
a wreath of poppies at the Cenotaph in London at 11 a.m. Sunday, local time, in
memory of those killed and injured in war.
Princess
Kate attended the ceremony, as well as attending a Poppy Day event Saturday
night. It was just her fourth public appearance of the year, after recovering
from cancer. William said he hoped she would return to a fuller program of
engagements next year.
The war is
lost, now the recriminations begin
The reaction
from both sides keeps rolling in after Andrew’s stunning victory (as mentioned
above) over his brother in the matter of his living arrangements at Royal
Lodge. While the palace is refusing to comment officially, some of Charles’
friends are furious, saying that he has been badly advised—and calling for
heads to roll.
The story
has sucked up a remarkable amount of royal time and energy since reports
Charles wanted Andrew to leave first began appearing in U.K. papers in early
2023, just after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had been booted out of Frogmore
Cottage in a kingly fit of pique over Harry’s depiction f the family in his
memoir Spare.
Now, 18
months later, the king’s camp have been forced to admit what Andrew’s side have
told The Daily Beast and others from day one; they don’t have a legal leg to
stand on and Andrew and his heirs are entitled to stay at the fabulous,
ten-bedroomed, crenelated mansion on 90 acres until his lease expires in…2078!
One friend
of Charles and Camilla’s said: “Whoever advised the king to set off on this
road and keep going down this road has very serious questions to answer.
Charles loathes incompetence above all else. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if
some people quietly clear off at Christmas never to be seen again.”
Another
friend of the family said: “I’m afraid it’s another reflection of the family’s
fundamental dysfunction. Normal families don’t have these kinds of arguments.
The king’s aides were foolish to wash the family’s dirty linen in public in
this way.”
Charles’
camp have consistently briefed the U.K. media in pompous terms about how Andrew
would be forced to leave the property. As recently as September this year, one
told the Times Andrew was “taking longer than desirable to recognize the
reality of the situation, even though it is clearly the most sensible course of
action.”
They added:
“It can be done tidily or untidily. It can be done with grace and dignity or it
can be forced upon him. It’s all rather sad. But as things stand, life at Royal
Lodge is set to become increasingly cold and uncomfortable for the duke. The
only question now is when he will realize that he has become a prisoner of his
own pride.”
Friends of
Andrew told The Daily Beast this weekend they were happy for the disgraced
duke.
One said:
“We are thrilled for Andrew. Andrew has a cast iron lease on the property so
god knows why Charles chose to pick this battle. He has been comprehensively
humiliated. It’s hard to imagine anyone would have any interest in where Andrew
is living if Charles’ aides had not spent the past year banging on about it. He
was never going to just walk away from the property; the lease is a valuable
asset he intends to leave to his children, and maybe William will be glad of
having Eugenie or Beatrice there in years to come.
“It’s a
great result for Andrew and Sarah. It’s absurd that Charles wasn’t dissuaded
from launching this campaign against them in the first place, but then to
continue it this year, when the king has been so ill, was, frankly, nuts.”
Royal
round-up
Also
happening in the royal firmament this week, as reported in The Daily Beast and
further afield: William revealed his daughter Charlotte started crying when she
first saw his beard. William also said 2024 was the hardest year of his life
dealing with the double cancer battle in his family. President-elect Trump
praised King Charles as “beautiful” in his Tucker Carlson film.
Plans are
already underway in the U.K. to try use Trump’s reverence for the monarchy and
love of state visits to the U.K. to leverage a better deal for Britain in the
coming global tariff wars. Also, Prince Harry may live to regret boasting about
his drug use in his memoir if it gets him deported by the Trump administration.
This week in
royal history
Happy
birthday King Charles, who turns 76 on Nov. 14. On the same day in 1973,
Princess Anne married first husband Captain Mark Phillips.
Unanswered
questions
Will anyone
be obliged to carry the can for the bitter failure of attempts to get Andrew
out of Royal Lodge, or will Charles decide the fault is his and spare his
staff?
Has anyone noticed what a nasty, mean spirited and even tabloid tone and attitude this blog had taken recently? The author can hardly consider themselves a gentleman.
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