Stressed and worried
Oh gosh, Andrew Windsor is stressed.
Royal courtiers fear the Duke of York is being failed by the strategy pursued by his London-based legal team, amid growing concern that his “wall of silence” is increasingly damaging the monarchy.
Note that that describes two completely different issues, which are likely in tension with each other. Windsor’s concern for himself is not at all the same thing as the monarchy’s concern for itself, and the latter will always trump the former if there’s a conflict. There’s a whole slew of people between A. Windsor and the throne so he’ll be overboard in a heartbeat if the bosses think it’s necessary.
Prince Andrew, 61, is “stressed” and “worried” and there is a distinct change of mood in his camp, sources admit, as the pressure to respond to the allegations intensifies and he faces the prospect of a legal battle that could drag on for years, costing millions.
A royal source told The Telegraph: “There is growing disquiet over the advice being given to the Duke by his London legal team in the face of this potentially highly damaging lawsuit which also has wider reputational implications for the institution of the monarchy.
“The legal team’s wall of silence and policy of evasion only adds to the impression [that] the Duke has something to hide and there is widespread concern that things have been allowed to get to this point.”
Uh huh. That’s the trap door getting closer to being opened under the Duke.
I find it difficult to work up sympathy for either party, the duke or the royals in general. They are overinflated gasbags that hold an inherited position that allows them to pretend they are important while doing very little of merit. And I heard Charles was in trouble for selling titles.
While it is satire, I think the show “The Windsors” does a pretty good job of showing the uselessness of the royal family.
I know, I know, they do charity. Out of boredom.
Michael, I used to share a place with a friend from London during college. She was as critical of the royals as anyone, but if I dared be critical, that’s what she pointed out. They do charity!
So do I. And I do it while being useful in other ways (at least, I hope I am. I certainly work enough hours, something I do must be useful at least once in a while).
I wish I could be arsed to actually follow all the bad shit happening to the royals generally, but what a waste of time if not good popcorn. They’re nobs, they can go to straight to hell. Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna’ be fooled again!
iknklast, to be fair to Charles, the monarchy has always sold titles in one form or another. For the aspiring noble the best way to gain plum positions, land, additional or better titles etc was to make yourself pleasing to the monarch. that might be through doing something truely useful such as providing an army at request, but it could also be by ‘loaning’ money, making extravagant gifts, doing the dirty on the King’s enemies at home or abroad, providing a younger daughter as you watched the other way etc etc. At the end of the day it was always a quid pro quo. That’s feudalism for you.
I hope nobody thinks I wrote this little squib out of concern or sympathy for Andy W. or any of his kin.
Ophelia, I certainly didn’t think that. And I can’t imagine anyone who has read this site for any length of time would think that. Maybe someone who caught this as their first article…but even then, I don’t read sympathy in it. Maybe a tad gloating? Nah, you wouldn’t do that…
I was half-joking, since I know I was very obvious about it, it’s just that one or two comments seemed a little confused on the point.
Ophelia @6, ah, no.
I seem to remember similar self-centred views coming from one Priss Choss a few years back. He was concerned that people would publicise that he was being politically meddlesome, and his camp was worried that this would ruin his appearance of political neutrality. They forgot that the best way to appear politically neutral was to not be politically meddlesome.
I don’t even know who this guy is and have no particular need to find out, which might serve as a clue to the amount of attention I pay to royals in general. If every royal on the planet was a beacon of integrity and virtue, the monarchy would still be a stupid idea as far as I’m concerned. I will say this, though. I would not want to trade places with the people born into that pillory for all the money in the universe. Being followed by paparazzis wherever you go and not having any right to privacy seems to me like as good a description of Hell as anything I can imagine.
I’m not quite sure that pulling one’s sleeves down to cover one’s hands, then flapping them helplessly and saying “sorry, no hands, I can’t possibly take that wodge of paper you are trying to serve me” whilst diving into the back of a waiting Bentley counts as a legal strategy. At least, it bloody well shouldn’t.
Yes, it’s got to be a misery in the gilded cage. One I wouldn’t take if offered. Of course, we romanticize royalty in movies, songs, and fairytales. But the rigid class system is a cage for everyone involved. Mind, they do have their needs taken care of with luxury and want for nothing and get to hobknob with Elton and jet away to Balmoral for a bit of hunting and pheasant-shooting on the weekend, so it’s hard to find sympathy for the top end.
If push came to shove and after a lot of cards falling in his favour, Prince Andrew would probably make a better king than say Henry Tudor did. (ie HenryVIII). Probably also less inclined to serial marriage as well.
Look on the bright side, I always say. And if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
The really worst thing about being a royal, at least the UK variety, is that you can’t choose your own life. You can’t get out of being a royal. You can’t just say no thank you my vocation is teaching / medicine / poetry / engineering.
Catwhisperer, it’s not, but I’m sure Andrew doesn’t sweat it.
Nicely done, Rob :D