William Is Reportedly ‘Calling the Shots’ on Andrew Crisis to Shield King Charles from ‘Criticism'

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse and child abuse that some readers may find distressing.

If there were any lingering doubts about who’s steering the Firm these days, the latest reports have settled them. Prince William is allegedly beginning to show a steelier side as the monarch-in-waiting. Described as 'ruthless' by royal biographer Andrew Lownie, the Prince of Wales is said to have taken firm control from behind the scenes, orchestrating decisions that have left little room for sentiment. And at the top of his agenda, as per Lownie, was dealing with the royal family's most troublesome member — his disgraced uncle, Prince Andrew.

According to Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, William has been quietly but decisively ‘calling the shots’ to protect King Charles from 'criticism' over his perceived reluctance to act, perhaps out of patience or compassion. “He’s much more ruthless than his father,” Lownie told Channel 4 News. “I think he can see the huge reputational damage that’s been done.” 

Behind closed doors, that meant one thing: cutting Andrew adrift. Reports suggest William actively urged his father to sever ties with his disgraced brother, even pressing for him and Sarah Ferguson to vacate the Windsor mansion they have long called home. The former Duke of York’s refusal to show remorse, coupled with a fresh wave of revelations linking him to Jeffrey Epstein, left the Palace with little to no choice but to act. 

For the King, too, his brother’s obstinacy had become intolerable. As per reports, Charles privately warned Andrew that if he didn’t voluntarily relinquish his titles and honors, legal actions would follow through the Parliament. “One of the reasons for the timing,” Lownie observed, is that people were "starting to criticize the King for being too weak. I think they realized they needed to do something.”

Ultimately, Andrew was persuaded to yield. Senior aides were reportedly forced to consider stripping his titles by alternative means, an idea that 'shocked' the Prince into finally falling on his sword. “The thought of him continuing to use the titles and honors that had been conferred upon him for another day, month or year… was intolerable,” a royal source said. They added, “For the sake of the wider family, and at last, for the wider good, Andrew saw sense," the Daily Mail reported. 

And as is evident, that ‘sense’ may have come a little too late. A damning trail of emails between Andrew and Epstein surfaced just as Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir and Lownie’s explosive biography hit the shelves. Reports also emerged that Andrew had asked his taxpayer-funded bodyguard to investigate Giuffre, even passing along private details like her date of birth and social security number obtained through Epstein. The disclosures, Palace insiders admit, marked a ‘tipping point.’

If you are being subjected to sexual abuse, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)