Queen Elizabeth II Has Banned Prince Andrew From Royal Family’s New Plans
Once upon a time, Prince Andrew was a prominent and visible member of the royal family. But these days he’s being kept out of the royal spotlight as much as possible with Queen Elizabeth II even sending strong signals by banning him from a key event.
Here’s what the monarch just did that proved the Duke of York is not a part of the “New Firm.”
Prince Andrew’s car crash interview spelled the end of his royal career
In November 2019, Prince Andrew did a televised interview with the BBC in which he talked about his association with late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The queen’s second-oldest son denied accusations that he had sex with one of Epstein’s alleged victims when she was a minor.
That interview was seen as a disaster because the duke did not come off as believable and showed no empathy for any of the women allegedly trafficked by his former friend.
The “car crash” interview garnered so much backlash that he was left with no choice but to temporarily step down from his royal duties. It was later reported that he would not resume his official duties in any compacity.
Andrew wanted to make a royal family comeback
While Prince Andrew agreed to step back from public life he retained his military commands. According to royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, in doing so the duke felt that he can one day have a royal family comeback.
“He’s still kept his military links so I think he is hoping to make some sort of a comeback,” Fitzwilliams told The Express. “But I don’t think this comeback is getting very far.”
The commentator added that even though the prince was forced to step down permanently he doesn’t believe Andrew saw it that way and that the prince thought he’d be able to return to the royal spotlight at some point.
But now his mother put an end to that notion.
Queen proves the Duke of York is not part of the ‘New Firm’
Queen Elizabeth has made it clear that Andrew returning to the Firm will not happen with her strongest signal yet.
In December 2020, the monarch held a public gathering at Windsor Castle. According to the Express, this was the first she’s held in nine months and it included the key members of her family: Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex; as well as Princess Anne.
In addition to Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who stepped down as senior royals earlier in the year, were also noticeably absent. The royals gathered at Windsor with the queen are being dubbed the “New Firm.”
“The family [is] united in exploring the possibilities in working with each other to highlight the causes dear to their hearts, helping each other and the country at the same time,” a palace source said. “They are working on opportunities for next year and beyond already. As soon as they are able it will be all hands on deck to make up for lost time. The queen has often said they ‘need to be seen to be believed’ — this is coming from the very top.”
