Meghan Markle accidentally shared a photo of herself smiling from ear to ear, around the same time the world was receiving the breaking announcement that King Charles III had prevailed in making Prince Andrew pay for the shame and damage he had caused the monarchy and the Royal Family.
Markle, realizing that the photo looked like a scream of victory and vindication, was quick to delete it.
That is the only clear signal that the outside world has received since His Majesty and the heir forced Andrew to give up his titles, honors, dignity, privileges, and multimillion-dollar Royal Lodge.
Harry’s Account: No Security, No Shame
However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were the first and only members of the Royal Family to speak openly and candidly about Andrew’s disturbing association with Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre.
In Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir, Spare, Prince Harry harshly criticized his uncle for his alleged activities. He also took a shot at the monarchy and the Royal Family, who constantly cuddled and protected Andrew Mountbatten.
The Duke reportedly told his wife before they knew they would lose their security: “Never. Not in this climate of hate. Not after what happened to my mother [Princess Diana]. Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew.”
He then wrote how Andrew, “despite being involved in an embarrassing scandal, accused of having sexually abused a young woman, nobody had suggested removing his security. People may have a lot of grievances towards us, but sexual offenses weren’t one of them.”
The Hypocrisy That Irked Harry
The way the Andrew situation was handled always irked Prince Harry because he believed that his disgraced relative received a pass from the royals for his unspeakable actions, while he and Meghan Markle were thrown to the wolves for doing far less.
Prince Harry has expressed confusion about why the monarchy, King Charles, Prince William, and “The Firm” continued to support Andrew — including letting him live rent-free in a twenty-room multimillion-dollar palace, providing security, and allowing him to participate in family and state functions — while he and Meghan Markle were excluded for simply sharing grievances and relocating to another country.
Vindicated: Experts Call Out Royal Favoritism
After watching all that the Royal Family went through this week, with Andrew fighting back against His Majesty, creating more drama for Kate Middleton and Prince William (who refused to have him as a neighbor), and pitting Princess Anne against her brother King Charles, one high-profile royal reporter said that Prince Harry has been vindicated.
The reporter and others online said that Prince Harry was right to call out the monarchy’s hypocrisy in the manner they shielded Andrew and evicted him and Markle from Frogmore Cottage, erasing them from the monarchy.
Royal expert and commentator, Afua Acheampong-Hagan, told The Mirror: “If you look at the [palace] language, talking about mental health, I feel like [Andrew] has been so protected. He’s been so looked after, so mollycoddled. [They’ve basically said] ‘here’s another big old beautiful house you can live in, we’ll make sure you’re okay.’ It’s even coming out of King Charles’s purse, his pocket, paying for Sandringham.”
The journalist shared: “Then, when you look at Harry and Meghan, they were completely excommunicated. Even for Harry to have a conversation with his dad is like running the Hunger Games. I think that the way they have been treated is pretty diabolical, to be honest. But we know why, right? Because Harry decided to marry a woman of color who was American, who was divorced, who was a little bit older than him, was an actress.”
The expert concluded by: “Look how protected Andrew is, the Queen‘s favorite son. [The same level of protection was not afforded to Harry and Meghan].”
King Charles’s Surreal Arrangement With Andrew Infuriates Prince Harry
Another reason that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be livid by the latest development is the stunning arrangement that King Charles has put in place for Andrew.
The Financial Settlement
Andrew walks away with several millions as part of “a generous financial settlement with King Charles” as part of the deal, which will see him move to a private home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, along with private security and all the other privileges of being the Queen’s favorite son.
One friend told The Daily Beast: “Andrew made it clear that he needed to be financially recompensed for surrendering the remaining 50 years of his lease on one of England’s finest homes. The lease was his daughter’s inheritance and an asset, and in this country, you can’t seize people’s assets. Charles was always going to have to pay him off, and he has done what he should have done in the first place.”
Another friend of both Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew told The Daily Beast, “The pension is handsome.”
Continued Earning Potential
The Daily Beast added that Andrew will receive millions from His Majesty and be allowed to earn money doing his shady businesses in the Middle East or with the Chinese.
The outlet reported: “Buckingham Palace declined to comment; however, in official documentation seen by The Royalist, the palace admitted that not only would Andrew be given a home on the Sandringham estate funded by the King, but that he would also receive direct funding in the form of “appropriate private provision.” The palace also suggested that he would be allowed to continue earning money privately.”
The Duke of Sussex is still trying to move forward with his relatives.
