In this divided nation there is one issue we all appear to agree on. Prince Andrew. The latest YouGov poll on the subject confirmed, completely unsurprisingly, he’s the least popular member of the royal family by far.
Now, King Charles is taking the example set by his mother - putting the country first - up a notch, by doing what she could never quite manage with her favourite child. Correctly assessing the public mood, he is no longer willing to indulge this arrogant outcast. Andrew, whose association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led to him paying millions to settle out of court claims he strenuously denied, was told in 2022 there was no way back for him when it came to royal duties.
So Charles wants to move Andrew from the stately-home-esque spread he’s currently kicking his heels in, to Frogmore Cottage. A little clarity, because some of the words here could be misleading. Although it’s called a cottage, Frogmore is a beautiful, ten bedroom, historic Grade II listed home, renovated by the woman responsible for the stunning interiors of high end members club Soho Farmhouse via Meghan Markle.
Andrew is not being shipped off to a two up two down in the Outer Hebrides, he’s being asked to leave the lap of luxury for a slightly smaller lap of luxury in the exact same area. Charles is being entirely reasonable, and kinder than many would be in his position. But still Andrew, a man who famously described himself as having “a tendency to be too honourable�.