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Ah Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue.
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I'm your host, Mark Francis. Chris Riches in The Express
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suggests Harry and Meghan may have thrown Andrew a lifeline.
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Riches writes, being a royal is like a lifeboat from
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the Titanic. There aren't many, and it's better to be
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in than out. Harry and Meghan opted to be out,
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hoping secretly to make Netflix millions sell there as ever,
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jam for ten pounds a pot, and travel the world
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receiving royal red carpet treatment. Instead, they had been sunk
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by their own grandiose delusions of importance, and the timing
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of their latest desperate faux royal tour to the Middle
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East has only done one thing, deflect of the world's
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rightful glare and scrutiny of his recently arrested uncle Andrew.
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A newly reported US security assessment has alleged that Andrew
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mount Batten Windsor believed he would have made a better
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monarch than his brother, King Charles, and that foreign intelligence
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services sought to exploit his personal grievances. According to The
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Daily Mail, the classified document dated January fifteenth this year
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and produced by an unnamed U S security agency, is
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titled Political Corruption Andrew mount Batten Windsor, with the subheading
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designated Russian Union. The assessment reportedly outlines claims that Russian
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operatives viewed Andrew as a potential access point into British institutions.
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US analysts are said to have described him as both
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a useful idiot and the royal family's weak link. A
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source familiar with the document told The Mail it says
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that Russian intelligence developed networks using figures such as Jeffrey
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Epstein for access to political and business leaders and to
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control any possible domestic law enforcement actions. It states that
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Andrew mount Batten Windsor AMW was cultivated by Russian intelligence
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to have a figure close to the British royal family.
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The same source claimed the assessment suggests Moscow targeted Andrew
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by appealing to what it describes as his resentment towards
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his elder brother and his appetite for money, sex and status.
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The source added this would facilitate them conducting both intelligence
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and corruption operations, where then both the UK and the
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EU and the wider world, using AMW as a front
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provided legitimacy to corruption operations worldwide. AMW was not blackmailed
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or otherwise coerced into this role. Rather, he was a
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willing participant in these schemes due to financial, sexual and
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personal reward. Russian intelligence used AMW's sexual proclivities to establish
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a relationship rapport in order to exploit this mental condition
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for further gain. The document is also said to state
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AMW has had a long standing hatred of his brother Charles,
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who he sees as weak. AMW detested the attention and
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adulation Charles received as the future king, feeling he was
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best suited for the role in superior in general to
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the then Prince of Wales. The reported disclosures come amid continued
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political scrutiny of Andrew's decade long tenure as Britain's Special
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Representative for International Trade and Investment. Andrew Lowney, author of
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entitled told The Mail it is now clear that the
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US intelligence agencies believe Andrew mount Batten Windsor was used
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by both Russian and Chinese spires to further their influence.
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Andrew was previously denied wrongdoing in retaliation to his associations
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with Jeffrey Epstein and has not publicly responded to the
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latest claims. There has been no official confirmation from US
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authorities regarding the existence or contents of the alleged assessment.
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Andrew has returned one of Norway's highest royal honours, according
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to the Norwegian Royal Palace and a brief statement reported
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by Reuters, the palace spokesman said Andrew mount Batten Windsor
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has chosen to return his order. No further explanation was given,
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with the Palace citing confidentiality rules surrounding royal decorations. The
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honor in question is the Order of Saint Olave, Norway's
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most prestigious peacetime award. It was originally bestow on Andrew
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in nineteen eighty eight in recognition of distinguished service. There
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is a lot of drama happening in the Norwegian royal
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family this week. The eighty nine year old king was hospitalized,
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the Crown Princess is in the Epstein files, and her
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son is on trial, accused of thirty eight charges, including
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four counts of rape. And we are covering all of
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that daily on our sister podcast, Crown and Controversy Norway.
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Just search for that wherever you get your podcasts like
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the one you're listening to. The British and Norwegian royal
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families are historically linked to King Harald and Britain's King
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Charles are related through shared royal ancestry, including Queen Victoria,
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and to understand the modern relationship between the British and
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Norwegian royal families, you have to go back to the
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great dynastic web created by Queen Victoria and King Christian
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the ninth of Denmark, often called the Grandmother and the
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father in law of Europe. Their descendants married into royal
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houses across the continent, and the Norwegian monarchy is one
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of the clearest examples of those time. When Norway became
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an independent kingdom in nineteen oh five, it chose Prince
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Karl of Denmark as its king. He became King Hearken
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the seventh. Hearken was a grandson of King Christian the ninth.
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His wife, Queen Maude, was the daughter of Britain's King
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Edward the seventh and the granddaughter of Queen Victorian. That
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marriage created the direct family link between the two royal houses.
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Queen Maud's brother was King George the Fifth of the
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UK that bade King Hearken the seventh, the brother in
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law of George the Fifth and the uncle by marriage
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of King George the sixth. Their children, including Crown Prince
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Olive of Norway and Princess Elizabeth the future Queen Elizabeth
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the Second, were therefore first cousins. Wellover test later, that
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wartime family bond was visible during the German occupation of Norway,
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when King Hargan and Crown Prince Olive lived in exile
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in London and were received at Buckingham Palace not simply
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as allies but as close relatives. In the modern generation,
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the connection continues. King are Old the Fifth of Norway,
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the son of Crown Prince Olive, and Queen Elizabeth the Second,
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was second cousin, both great great grandchildren of Queen Victoria,
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King Charles the Third, King Aral the fifth the third cousins,
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again through their shared dissent from Queen Victoria. There is
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an additional connection through Prince Philip. Like the late Queen,
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he was also a descendant of Queen Victoria, which means
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the Norwegian royal family is related to him independently as well.
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So although the British and Norwegian monarchies are separate institutions,
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they remain closely tied by blood, with their family relationship
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stretching back through Queen Victoria and King Christian the Ninth
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and continuing through today's reigning Kings. Again. If you find
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all this interesting, checkout Crown and Controversy, Norway wherever you
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get your podcasts. We'll be right back. Closer magazine reports
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that Andrew is seeking financial backing from the King as
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speculation continues over whether the police investigation into him could
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lead to further legal proceedings, and inside of claims, he's
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still trying to get Charles to step up and back
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him properly, especially when it comes to funding his legal fight.
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He's absolutely seething about how this is all Ben handled.
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He's adamant that his escapegoat in all of this and
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that it's unfair he's being left to take the fall alone.
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The fact that Charles was out schmoozing at some fashion
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party for London Fashion Week at the same time he
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was behind bars just added more salt to the wound.
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Close's source suggests Andrew had not anticipated his arrest as
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bad as things have Ben Andrew was not at all
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prepared for the police to come knocking. He still thought
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as the king's brother, he was above all that, the
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insider says. But Charles is very loudly letting it be
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known he wants full transparency, so in Andrew's view, he's
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essentially unleashed the mob on him. According to the same insider,
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Andrew is considering telling his side of the story publicly.
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He's saying he's ready to fight back. He will be
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forced to talk to authorities, and he's saying that when
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he does, he will share as much dirt as he
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can on everyone. His priority right now is staying out
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of jail, but he's saying the time will come when
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he has his say, and he's preparing for that day.
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He's documenting everything, saving messages, jotting down names, dates, what
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was said, who was where. He's convinced he can clear
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his name or at the very least take a lot
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of other people down with him. He keeps talking about
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how he's done protecting people, that he's going to leave
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the world stunned when he tells his side of things.
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So it does seem like a book will eventually happen too.
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He's the type that would write it from a jail cell.
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He's very vengeful. He really believes that if he does
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it the right way, he can clear his name and
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in the process expose anyone that's betrayed him. He's not
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going to be made the scapegoat in this not without
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a serious fight. A commemorative plaque marking a twenty eighteen
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visit by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to Invenus Town Hall has
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been removed and placed into storage. Highland Council has confirmed
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the plaque, unveiled in September of twenty eighteen to mark
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the completion of a four million pound renovation project at
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the A listed building, was taken down on Wednesday from
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its position near the entrance. In a statement, Highland Council
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said the plaque was removed by the count on Wednesday.
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The plak is in storage in the Townhouse. Invernic's Townhouse,
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built in a Flemish Baronial style and opened in eighteen
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eighty two by Queen Victoria's second son Alfred, has long
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held royal and political significance. In September nineteen twenty one,
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it hosted a meeting of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's cabinet,
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including Winston Churchill during discussions that led to what became
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known as the Inverness Formula in negotiations over the Irish
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Free State. Other councils are reviewing similar commemorations. Dumfries and
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Galloway Council said it was aware of a plaque marking
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a two thousand and nine visit to Castle Douglas's primary school,
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but had not made a decision on whether to remove it.
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Andrew's dogs are now being exercised by a staff at
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the Sandringham estate. The group of animals includes his Norfolk Terriers,
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as well as the Late Queen's Corgis Mick and Sandy,
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which he and Sarah Ferguson adopted after her death in
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twenty twenty two. When he was living at Royal Lodge
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in Windsor, Andrew was frequently seen walking the dogs himself. However,
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since relocating to wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, the
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animals have been spotted being walked by a man believed
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to be part of his security team. The dogs are
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understood to be taken out twice daily along a state
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tracks near paddocks and Woodland, while Andrew remains indoors. And
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there you have it. I feel like the email US
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addresses the Palace intrig at gmail dot com. Please follows
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on Spotify, Apple for the Attitude choice by Mark Francis
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My thanks to John McDermot. This is Palace Intrigue and
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good times.