As Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor contemplates the wreckage of his public life and career, it would be easy to say that his disgrace is complete. In fact, there is a qualifier: his disgrace is almost complete. Despite no longer being a royal prince, the Duke of York or holder of the Order of the Garter, Andrew still retains the title of vice-admiral in the Royal Navy.
This was an honorific bestowed upon him as a 55th birthday present in 2015, with his mother’s enthusiastic approval. He was due to be upgraded to the title of full admiral in 2020 for his 60th, again something in the late queen’s gift, but events, dear boy, intruded and so he was stuck with the lesser honour. And now that is to be stripped from him, too.
Most would wonder why on earth Andrew is still clinging on to this final title of vice-admiral if he is no longer considered fit to be a prince, but there is a banal reason for it. It is the government, rather than the royal family, who must strip it from him. Those of us who were impressed at the speed – and the brutality – with which the King acted to remove Andrew’s other honours might be similarly unimpressed at the heel-dragging that has accompanied this last step in the former prince’s public humiliation. Andrew’s few supporters, on the other hand, may consider that this is yet another unfair and unjust privation visited upon someone who should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty, in circumstances where Andrew continues to deny all wrongdoing.
The government and the MoD should just get on with it
In any case, as with so much that the government is responsible for, the intent is there, but the means of execution is lacking. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has commented, somewhat haplessly, that the department ‘continues to act in line with His Majesty’s intent regarding the process to remove the style, titles and honours of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, suggested in early November that the vice-admiral title would soon be removed, saying to the BBC that ‘this is a move that’s right. It’s a move the King has indicated we should take, and we’re working on that at the moment.’ However, even if Charles wishes that his troublesome brother give up any vestige of his public standing, all the MoD can say of the process of the removal is that it is ‘ongoing’, without providing any more details.
Most would consider this perplexing. None other than the former first sea lord Admiral Lord West – a man who earnt his title rather than being handed it by his mother – told the Times that ‘it seems extraordinary that it is taking so long and I cannot see why it is that difficult to remove it’. He added, ‘We recently swiftly removed the first sea lord from his position and he had the rank of admiral, so it cannot be that difficult. They should just get on with it.’ But ‘getting on with it’ seems to be the hardest thing for the government, who are mired in uncertainty and impotence alike when it comes to the troublesome former prince.
Last month, we learned that Andrew had also reportedly been stripped of his honorary life membership of the private members’ club The Savage. As Andrew’s retreat into private life sees even the few trinkets of distinction that he had accrued taken from him, he might be forgiven for wondering which further humiliations await him. Congress is still very keen to hear his testimony as regards his friendship with Epstein, and when the so-called ‘Epstein files’ are released into the public domain, it seems highly likely, if previous releases are to go by, that Andrew’s name will be found in them repeatedly, to inevitably embarrassing effect.
With all the concomitant opportunities for dung to be heaped upon Andrew’s once-princely head, being stripped of a vice position may seem small beer in comparison. The government and the MoD should just get on with it and draw a line under this tawdry saga.
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