Prince William allegedly gave the Queen a “him or me” ultimatum, leaving Prince Andrew out of the Order of the Garter service today.
If you thought your family had wild Thanksgivings and dramatic arguments at Christmas, it’s child’s play compared to what the royal family appears to deal with behind-the-scenes on a daily basis.
While the public only hears snippets and rumors of what may be going on behind closed doors at Buckingham Palace, it was obvious at today’s Order of the Garter service that all was not rainbows and sunshine after Prince Andrew failed to appear.
Prince William gave the Queen an ultimatum over Prince Andrew
Reports have surfaced claiming Prince William gave the Queen a “him or me” ultimatum in what sounds like a crazy dramatic showdown between the reigning monarch and one of her heirs.
Prince Andrew’s name even appeared on the order of service, meaning the decision to keep him out was made at the last minute. An insider at the palace told the Daily Mail that it was a “family decision,” to keep Andrew out of the public eye, but he would be attending private events.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, “The Duke of York will attend the investiture and lunch today but will not be part of the procession or service.”
Prince William is completely against Prince Andrew taking part in public events
As for Prince William’s feelings on the subject, he’s clearly thinking towards the future and how the public will view the royal family. He has no personal empathy towards Andrew the way the Queen does; after all, he is her son.
A source told The Evening Standard, “The Duke of Cambridge was adamant. If York insisted on taking part publicly, he would withdraw. It would have also meant that his wife Kate would also not have attended.”
Prince Andrew did not attend any Platinum Jubilee events either, conveniently coming down with a case of COVID-19 right at the start.
Prince Andrew was stripped of royal duties after his settlement with Virginia Giuffre
Andrew was stripped of his royal duties after the highly embarrassing multi-million-pound settlement that he was ordered to pay out Virginia Giuffre in February. The former sex slave to Jeffrey Epstein alleged Andrew slept with her when she was underage.
Despite his desire to rejoin royal life, it looks increasingly unlikely that this will happen. Royal biographer Angela Levin told the Daily Mail, “Andrew should be ashamed of himself. His demand to return to duty was outrageous. It clearly showed he was not concerned about what happened with his court case. He was not found guilty – but, my goodness, there is a massive amount of grubbiness surrounding him.”
In other less grubby news, Kate Middleton looked absolutely fabulous as always at the service in a light blue coat dress and matching hat.