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After what they’ve endured in recent months, the British royal family will never be the same. Prior to late 2019, the royals seemed to be a good track. The Cambridges are beloved by royal fans around the globe, and though the Sussexes had some detractors — Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry worked diligently to put their best foot forward.

Things took a major turn for the worse in November 2019. Questions had been brewing regarding Prince Andrew’s relationship with the late financier and sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein. Though the prince had tried to distance himself from the Epstein name since the businessman hanged himself in prison in the summer of 2019, by November, people wanted answers.

Unfortunately, the Duke of York got on BBC News Night and defended his relationship with Epstein setting off a chain of events that would strip him of his royal life and leave his nephew, Prince Harry, at a loss for words.

Prince Andrew caused his own downfall

Prince Andrew attempted to address his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein on BBC News Night. Since the businessman was convicted of child sex trafficking over a decade ago, people were horrified that the prince continued to remain friends with him.

On News Night, the duke said he did not regret their friendship. Obviously, this did not go over well. With one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Roberts, accusing the prince of abusing her when she was 17, and the duke’s refusal to work with the FBI on Epstein’s case, things only went downhill from there.

Prince Andrew was forced to step away from his royal duties. The prince said in a statement, “the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work.”

Prince William was instrumental in removing Prince Andrew from his royal duties

When the BBC interview happened, the senior members of the British royal family including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William went into crisis mode, effectively getting the Duke of York to step down.

“William thinks the right thing happened,” a source told The London Times. “William is becoming more and more involved in decisions about the institution [monarchy] and he’s not a huge fan of his uncle Andrew.”

The prince’s ousting effectively change the shape of the royal family, which shifted, even more, two months later when the Sussexes announced their intent to leave royal life behind.

Prince Harry refuses to discuss the Prince Andrew scandal

Though the Prince Andrew scandal occurred prior to Megxit — Prince Harry was on a royal hiatus when it happened so he was not in talks about the prince’s dismissal. Until now, he has not spoken publicly about his uncle’s downfall.

In a leaked phone call where two Russian pranksters, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyaro posed as Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, and her dad Svante — Prince Harry has revealed all that he probably will ever say on the matter.

“I have very little to say on that,” he said. “But whatever he has done or hasn’t done, is completely separate from me and my wife. We operate in a way of inclusivity and we are focusing on community. And so we are completely separate from the majority of my family.”

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