Prince Andrew is desperate to win back armed security which will cost British taxpayers $3.7m (£3m).
The Duke of York, 63, who was famously stripped of his royal and military honors by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is bidding to regain state-funded protection from Britain’s Home Office, and former Home Secretary Priti Patel appears to be backing the move, according to reports .
The disgraced royal, who was banned from using the name DYMM (“Your Majesty”) following her alleged friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is no longer safe and also lost her patronage last year.
Prince Andrew is hoping to get his security detail back at the expense of the public, as a former home secretary backs the change.Getty Images
Patel has emailed the king’s private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, and asked him to consider reviewing Andrew’s safety.
The disgraced royal, barred from using his RHS (“His Highness”) name, no longer has security.Getty Images
Patel, however, was forced to issue an apology to King Charles this week after news of his approach to protecting Andrew leaked.
“It is disappointing that this correspondence has been leaked to the public domain and I apologize to Your Majesty for the embarrassment and inconvenience caused by the publication of this correspondence,” he said in a statement.
A royal expert has since slammed the ordeal, calling it “shameful” and “controversial.”
Andrew’s brother King Charles received an apology from the UK Home Office this week.Getty Images
“The King would be very embarrassed by this – the issue is so controversial he won’t go anywhere,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward told GB News.
“Ms. Patel should know she has no power over this decision. Her intervention is very unwise and very unfair to the king — and will damage Andrew’s interests, not help him.”
“And the bottom line remains, why should people pay £3 million a year to protect a man who rarely leaves his house?”
The Duke of York, 63, was famously stripped of his royal and military honors by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.Getty Images
A strong rebrand is much needed for the duke after a string of controversies tarnished his reputation and led to his massive fall from grace.
While he was still a Knight Royal of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, he was told face to face by his mother that he was no longer known as Her Royal Highness.
The late monarch, who was 96 when he died in September 2022, broke the news to the father-of-two at Windsor Castle in January last year. In the same month, he was also stripped of his military title.
The withdrawal of Andrew’s official royal label comes amid his sexual assault case filed by Virginia Giuffre, who has long claimed that Epstein told her to have “disgusting” sex with the royal three times, starting in 2001 when she was just 17.
Andrew’s lawyer said he “vehemently denies Giuffre’s false allegations against him.” He settled the case out of court for an undisclosed amount last February.
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
