KING Charles and Prince Andrew have never been close and are very different people – with no end in sight to their rivalry, a royal expert claims.
The monarch, 75, is reportedly threatening to strengthen ties with his younger brother, the Duke of York, 64, over his failure to vacate the Royal Lodge.
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Andrew – often dubbed Elizabeth II’s favorite son – shares the home, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and reportedly refuses to budge.
The shamed duke will never return to public service after paying millions to settle an abuse case with sex trafficking victim Jeffrey Epstein, and Charles has been trying to evict him from the 30-bedroom property for 18 months.
Since taking the throne, the King has sought to cut costs, including reducing the core of the Firm itself.
Charles and Andrew’s rivalry appears to mirror that of the king’s own sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun: “The King undoubtedly has a problem, and the Royal Family has very, very clearly, extremely serious and embarrassing perpetual problems with Prince Andrew.”
He said that the differences between the two brothers, however, were striking throughout their lives.
“They seem to have remained completely opposite, actually, in many ways,” he explained.
“Of course there is a 12-year age difference between King Charles and Prince Andrew,” he continued, adding that they “didn’t have much in common.”
“Charles is quite intellectual, serious, sensitive. Andrew is quite arrogant and extroverted.”
He pointed out that the brothers shared the feat of being “considered among the most desirable men on the planet” in their youth.
And aside from their different personalities, Fitzwilliams said, “I think they got along reasonably well for the first few years.”
In fact, there was a “long period” in which they “made commitments together, and so on”, he added.
“Apparently, Charles liked to read to Andrew when he was very young.”
André was even one of the best men of the then Prince of Wales‘marriage with Princess Diana in 1981.
Fitzwilliams said: “It appears from a distance that they got along very well over a long period of time.”
He identified the period in which Andrew married for the Duchess of York “began to disintegrate, and Sarah Ferguson became involved in a variety of controversial activities” that the bad blood came to the surface.
“I mean, I think it’s very clear that Charles had doubts,” he continued, adding that there were problems with “the way Andrew handled his post” as “special representative for British trade.”
“Things culminated, obviously, in the disastrous Newsnight interview, but I want to say that Andrew’s friendship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was the reason he lost his job, and Charles must have been very worried about part of the company that your brother was guarding it.”
King Charles and Prince Andrew’s relationship
King Charles and Prince Andrew were reportedly closer as children, despite their 12-year age difference.
There are claims that the now-monarch used to read bedtime stories to the young Duke of York, and they participated in royal duties together.
In 1981, Andrew was one of the best men at Charles’ wedding to Princess Diana.
Some royal experts suggest that their relationship began to fall apart after the Duke began dating Sarah Ferguson in 1985, whom he married the following year.
Richard Fitzwilliams identified the period when Andrew’s marriage “began to disintegrate and Sarah Ferguson became involved in a variety of controversial activities” that the bad blood came to the surface.
“I mean, I think it’s very clear that Charles had doubts,” he continued, adding that there were also problems with “the way Andrew handled his post” as “special representative for British trade.”
In November 2019, things really came to a head when Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview aired, in which he failed to say he regretted his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The pair appear to have met in the early 1990s.
Fitzwilliams added: “Charles must have been very concerned about some of the company his brother kept.”
Andrew was forced to abandon royal duties following the BBC broadcast and was later stripped of several titles and patronages amid his legal dispute with Virginia Giuffre.
Any hope that attitudes towards Andrew will soften now that Charles is king seem unrealistic.
Andrew was forced by the late Queen to step back from active duties following the car crash interview in November 2019 – dramatized this year on the Netflix show Scoop.
And he ended up being stripped of his titles and sponsorships amid the legal ordeal with trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre.
Referring to the Royal Lodge dispute, Mr Fitzwilliams said: “Could you argue what his aim is now?
“He has no real role, he never will. So what happens, and then he should get some money.
“Well, that’s up to the king, obviously. It’s an embarrassing situation.
“The facts are, however, that he still remains a terrible and terrible embarrassment to the Royal Family, but that is a different matter.”
He described Andrew living at Royal Lodge “on a peppercorn rent”, adding that he “certainly” doesn’t think Charles “wants any form of public confrontation”.
“Because Andrew needs to live somewhere, since he actually has a lease, it’s very difficult, so to speak, to evict him,” Fitzwilliams continued.
“I don’t see it dying, but I don’t see it resolving.
“You look back over a long period of time and you see what the king sees, and that’s that Andrew… has no obvious future.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
