From useful idiot to royal lifeboat: Spy claims swirl around Andrew

0:00 Ah Calorougus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I'm your host, Mark Francis. Chris Riches in The Express suggests Harry and Meghan may have thrown Andrew a lifeline. Riches writes, being a royal is like a lifeboat from the Titanic. There aren't many, and it's better to be in than out. Harry and Meghan opted to be out, hoping secretly to make Netflix millions sell there as ever, jam for ten pounds a pot, and travel the world receiving royal red carpet treatment. Instead, they had been sunk by their own grandiose delusions of importance, and the timing of their latest desperate faux royal tour to the Middle East has only done one thing, deflect of the world's rightful glare and scrutiny of his recently arrested uncle Andrew.

0:50 A newly reported US security assessment has alleged that Andrew mount Batten Windsor believed he would have made a better monarch than his brother, King Charles, and that foreign intelligence services sought to exploit his personal grievances. According to The Daily Mail, the classified document dated January fifteenth this year and produced by an unnamed U S security agency, is titled Political Corruption Andrew mount Batten Windsor, with the subheading designated Russian Union. The assessment reportedly outlines claims that Russian operatives viewed Andrew as a potential access point into British institutions. US analysts are said to have described him as both a useful idiot and the royal family's weak link. A source familiar with the document told The Mail it says that Russian intelligence developed networks using figures such as Jeffrey Epstein for access to political and business leaders and to control any possible domestic law enforcement actions. It states that Andrew mount Batten Windsor AMW was cultivated by Russian intelligence to have a figure close to the British royal family.

1:53 The same source claimed the assessment suggests Moscow targeted Andrew by appealing to what it describes as his resentment towards his elder brother and his appetite for money, sex and status. The source added this would facilitate them conducting both intelligence and corruption operations, where then both the UK and the EU and the wider world, using AMW as a front provided legitimacy to corruption operations worldwide. AMW was not blackmailed or otherwise coerced into this role. Rather, he was a willing participant in these schemes due to financial, sexual and personal reward. Russian intelligence used AMW's sexual proclivities to establish a relationship rapport in order to exploit this mental condition for further gain. The document is also said to state AMW has had a long standing hatred of his brother Charles, who he sees as weak. AMW detested the attention and adulation Charles received as the future king, feeling he was best suited for the role in superior in general to the then Prince of Wales. The reported disclosures come amid continued political scrutiny of Andrew's decade long tenure as Britain's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. Andrew Lowney, author of entitled told The Mail it is now clear that the US intelligence agencies believe Andrew mount Batten Windsor was used by both Russian and Chinese spires to further their influence.

3:19 Andrew was previously denied wrongdoing in retaliation to his associations with Jeffrey Epstein and has not publicly responded to the latest claims. There has been no official confirmation from US authorities regarding the existence or contents of the alleged assessment. Andrew has returned one of Norway's highest royal honours, according to the Norwegian Royal Palace and a brief statement reported by Reuters, the palace spokesman said Andrew mount Batten Windsor has chosen to return his order. No further explanation was given, with the Palace citing confidentiality rules surrounding royal decorations. The honor in question is the Order of Saint Olave, Norway's most prestigious peacetime award. It was originally bestow on Andrew in nineteen eighty eight in recognition of distinguished service. There is a lot of drama happening in the Norwegian royal family this week. The eighty nine year old king was hospitalized, the Crown Princess is in the Epstein files, and her son is on trial, accused of thirty eight charges, including four counts of rape. And we are covering all of that daily on our sister podcast, Crown and Controversy Norway.

4:24 Just search for that wherever you get your podcasts like the one you're listening to. The British and Norwegian royal families are historically linked to King Harald and Britain's King Charles are related through shared royal ancestry, including Queen Victoria, and to understand the modern relationship between the British and Norwegian royal families, you have to go back to the great dynastic web created by Queen Victoria and King Christian the ninth of Denmark, often called the Grandmother and the father in law of Europe. Their descendants married into royal houses across the continent, and the Norwegian monarchy is one of the clearest examples of those time. When Norway became an independent kingdom in nineteen oh five, it chose Prince Karl of Denmark as its king. He became King Hearken the seventh. Hearken was a grandson of King Christian the ninth.

5:11 His wife, Queen Maude, was the daughter of Britain's King Edward the seventh and the granddaughter of Queen Victorian. That marriage created the direct family link between the two royal houses. Queen Maud's brother was King George the Fifth of the UK that bade King Hearken the seventh, the brother in law of George the Fifth and the uncle by marriage of King George the sixth. Their children, including Crown Prince Olive of Norway and Princess Elizabeth the future Queen Elizabeth the Second, were therefore first cousins. Wellover test later, that wartime family bond was visible during the German occupation of Norway, when King Hargan and Crown Prince Olive lived in exile in London and were received at Buckingham Palace not simply as allies but as close relatives. In the modern generation, the connection continues. King are Old the Fifth of Norway, the son of Crown Prince Olive, and Queen Elizabeth the Second, was second cousin, both great great grandchildren of Queen Victoria, King Charles the Third, King Aral the fifth the third cousins, again through their shared dissent from Queen Victoria. There is an additional connection through Prince Philip. Like the late Queen, he was also a descendant of Queen Victoria, which means the Norwegian royal family is related to him independently as well.

6:20 So although the British and Norwegian monarchies are separate institutions, they remain closely tied by blood, with their family relationship stretching back through Queen Victoria and King Christian the Ninth and continuing through today's reigning Kings. Again. If you find all this interesting, checkout Crown and Controversy, Norway wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be right back. Closer magazine reports that Andrew is seeking financial backing from the King as speculation continues over whether the police investigation into him could lead to further legal proceedings, and inside of claims, he's still trying to get Charles to step up and back him properly, especially when it comes to funding his legal fight.

7:01 He's absolutely seething about how this is all Ben handled. He's adamant that his escapegoat in all of this and that it's unfair he's being left to take the fall alone. The fact that Charles was out schmoozing at some fashion party for London Fashion Week at the same time he was behind bars just added more salt to the wound. Close's source suggests Andrew had not anticipated his arrest as bad as things have Ben Andrew was not at all prepared for the police to come knocking. He still thought as the king's brother, he was above all that, the insider says. But Charles is very loudly letting it be known he wants full transparency, so in Andrew's view, he's essentially unleashed the mob on him. According to the same insider, Andrew is considering telling his side of the story publicly.

7:45 He's saying he's ready to fight back. He will be forced to talk to authorities, and he's saying that when he does, he will share as much dirt as he can on everyone. His priority right now is staying out of jail, but he's saying the time will come when he has his say, and he's preparing for that day. He's documenting everything, saving messages, jotting down names, dates, what was said, who was where. He's convinced he can clear his name or at the very least take a lot of other people down with him. He keeps talking about how he's done protecting people, that he's going to leave the world stunned when he tells his side of things. So it does seem like a book will eventually happen too. He's the type that would write it from a jail cell. He's very vengeful. He really believes that if he does it the right way, he can clear his name and in the process expose anyone that's betrayed him. He's not going to be made the scapegoat in this not without a serious fight. A commemorative plaque marking a twenty eighteen visit by Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to Invenus Town Hall has been removed and placed into storage. Highland Council has confirmed the plaque, unveiled in September of twenty eighteen to mark the completion of a four million pound renovation project at the A listed building, was taken down on Wednesday from its position near the entrance. In a statement, Highland Council said the plaque was removed by the count on Wednesday.

9:01 The plak is in storage in the Townhouse. Invernic's Townhouse, built in a Flemish Baronial style and opened in eighteen eighty two by Queen Victoria's second son Alfred, has long held royal and political significance. In September nineteen twenty one, it hosted a meeting of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's cabinet, including Winston Churchill during discussions that led to what became known as the Inverness Formula in negotiations over the Irish Free State. Other councils are reviewing similar commemorations. Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was aware of a plaque marking a two thousand and nine visit to Castle Douglas's primary school, but had not made a decision on whether to remove it.

9:42 Andrew's dogs are now being exercised by a staff at the Sandringham estate. The group of animals includes his Norfolk Terriers, as well as the Late Queen's Corgis Mick and Sandy, which he and Sarah Ferguson adopted after her death in twenty twenty two. When he was living at Royal Lodge in Windsor, Andrew was frequently seen walking the dogs himself. However, since relocating to wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, the animals have been spotted being walked by a man believed to be part of his security team. The dogs are understood to be taken out twice daily along a state tracks near paddocks and Woodland, while Andrew remains indoors. And there you have it. I feel like the email US addresses the Palace intrig at gmail dot com. Please follows on Spotify, Apple for the Attitude choice by Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermot. This is Palace Intrigue and good times.