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Calorogus Shark Media.
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Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I am your host,
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Mark Francis. In The Independent, Sean O'Grady writes, never has
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one man visited so much misery upon one family, damaged,
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the British monarchy so grievously and indeed distressed so many more,
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and all with such an apparent arrogance and insuciance towards
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the consequences. That one man, of course is Jeffrey Epstein,
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now no longer around to face any kind of justice.
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But at this juncture at least it's worth reflecting that
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if Andrew had never met Jeffrey, things would most likely
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be very different today for both him and Virginia Jeffrey
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nee Roberts, whose accusations have destroyed whatever Andrew was ever
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going to do with the rest of his life, Irving
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the wreckage of ditched historic titles now dormant, with his
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robes of the Order of the Garter now consigned to
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the wardrobe, it is difficult to imagine another world where
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Andrew was the most popular of the royals. A man
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whose handsome looks, whinning grin adventurous ways, and rugged charm
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attracted suitors and gushing headlines in equal measure, but we
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have lived in it. He was rumored to be his
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mother's favorite, and he struck an embarrassing contrast with his
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more sensitive, even soppy, elder brother, ridiculed for talking to
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his plants, his interest in mysticism and mission to save
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the Patagonian toothfish. While Charles appeared in eccentric, Andrew didn't
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seem to spend much time worrying about anything to any
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great depth, though honest reflection would have done him some good.
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Andy was a change from the stuffy ways of the Palace,
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the decorated war hero flying his helicopter into the Falklands War,
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married to the vivacious breath of fresh air Fergie, who
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liked a laugh just as he did. By the time
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of his own fairytale wedding in nineteen eighty six, he
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had become well established as a man of action and
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somehow a more modern figure. An article in The Independent
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reminds us all of the trouble Andrew has caused. In
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nineteen eighty four, a young Prince Andrew made headlines for
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all the wrong reasons during an official visit to Los Angeles.
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During a construction project in the Watts neighborhood. He stunned
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reporters by picking up a can of paint and sprang
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it at the press pack. When asked about his behavior,
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he smiled and said I enjoyed that, before wiping his
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hands on the newspaper, a moment that would set the
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tone for decades of royal embarrassment to come. In two
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thousand and seven, questions over his financial dealings surfaced when
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Andrew sold his Sunning Hill Park estate near Windsor Castle
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for fifteen million pounds, around twenty percent more than the
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asking price. The Bayer Kazakh billionaire to Murr Kibiliev, happened
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to be the son in law of then President Nurselton
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and as abray of, prompting suspicions that the deal was
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less about property and more about influence. By twenty ten,
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his ex wife Sarah Ferguson had added to the controversy
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when an undercover reporter caught her in film apparently offering
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to sell access to the Prince for five hundred thousand pounds.
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Although Andrew denied involvement, the sting reinforced the perception that
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money and proximity to the Duke of York often came
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hand in hand. In twenty eleven, Andrew's long standing friendship
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with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein forced him to resign as
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Britain's Special Trade Envoy. The Prince was also facing scrutiny
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over links to Muhamagha Dafi's son Safe and to a
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convicted Libyan gun smuggler, connections that deepened concerns about his
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judgment and associations. Then came July twenty nineteen, when Epstein
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was arrested for sex trafficking. His death in a New
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York jail a month later reignited scrutiny of Andrew's alleged
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sexual encounters with one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Geoffrey, who
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claimed she had been trafficked to the Prince at age seventeen.
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Andrew denied the allegations, but could not shake the stain
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of association. On the sixteenth of November twenty nineteen, Andrew
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attempted to clear his name in a BBC Newsnight interview
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with Emily Mateless, a disastrous performance that only worsened his standing.
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He defended his friendship with Epstein, failed to show empathy
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for victims and offered bizarre explanations, including his insistence that
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he could not sweat. Public outrage was swift and overwhelming.
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By November twenty twenty, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Andrew would
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suspend all royal duties for the foreseeable future. Within days,
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he had been stripped of his more than two hundred
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and thirty charitable patronages, effectively banished from public life. In
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twenty twenty two, Andrew agreed to settle a civil lawsuit
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brought by Virginia Geoffrey in the United States for a
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reported ten million pounds. The Prince admitted no wrongdoing, but
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acknowledged that Jeoffrey had suffered as a victim of abuse.
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By twenty twenty four, new concerns emerged when court documents
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revealed Andrew's association with a Chinese businessman later barred from
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the UK over espionage fears. Security officials warned that the
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relationship could have been exploited to influence the Prince. The
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saga took a tragic turn in April twenty twenty five,
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when Virginia Geoffrey died by suicide at her home in
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Western Australia. Six months later, British newspapers revealed that Andrew
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had sent Epstein an email in twenty eleven, months after
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claiming he had cut tires, telling him we are in
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this together and will have to rise above it. For
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the royal family, it marked the point of no return.
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More pallacy, just a moment. In the Royalist Tom Sykes
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called this the first great triumph of King William the Fifth.
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Sykes writes, everyone can see the truth. Charles looks exhausted,
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He has lost alarming weight, and he is still receiving
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regular radiotherapy and immunotherapy. He spends long stretches at High
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Grove and Bowmorl in near total rest. Yet in the
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official narrative he is merely convalescing, soldiering on a few
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discreete lines are inserted, like the ones slipped into a
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telegraph piece this week the king, whose cancer diagnosis has
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given him other pressing priorities as a form of insurance
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for when the worst happens. The announcement of Charles's illness
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fired the starting gun on what courtiers called the change
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of rain. From that moment, power began to flow from
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the king to the air, and from that moment, William's
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patience for his father's sentimentality, for his brother's chaos, and
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for his uncle's entitlement ran out. Charles tried to order
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Andrew out. The plan was hopelessly under researched. The Crown
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Estate least gave Andrew an ironclad right to stay, but
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the optics were brutal. Anonymous briefings suggested he might have
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his electricity cut off. The King looked petty and impotent,
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Andrew refused to budge. Charles will survived longer than was
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expected in those first fraught few weeks. Still, the energy
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now flows to William, whose team, young, digital ruthless are
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clearly ready to give the institution the most almighty kick
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up the behind. This is the pre succession. One former
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courtier told me. It's what Charles did to the Queen
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when he fired her private secretary Christopher, only now it's
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being done to him. It is a curious but familiar moment,
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a dying monarch too proud to abdicate, an heir already
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acting as king, and a family rearranging itself around a
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slow motion and what remains of Charles' reign is now
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less about governance than legacy, about how he will be remembered.
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He has spent his life seeking reconciliation with his subjects,
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his sons, and his brother, but reconciliation is not the
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mood of the next generation. The Windsor House that William's
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building will be leaner, sharper, and less forgiving in the sun.
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Matt Wilkinson analyzes it is far cleaner for all involved
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that Andrew is seen making his own decision to give
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up use of his titles, rather than being forced by
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the hand of the King or Parliament. It is also
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better for Andrew's rehabilitation and reputation that he has seen
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making the difficult choices himself. At least he is able
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to say that he is attempting to no longer embarrass
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the royal family, the King, the United Kingdom, or himself.
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And maybe, just maybe, Andrew hopes that by making the
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gesture pressurable ease on his tenancy of Royal Lodge. Royal
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watcher Jenny Bond tells The Mirror that Charles still has
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to deal with his Royal Lodge issue. I suspect the
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King will let this one drop for a while. He
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has forced his brother to give up his titles and honors.
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Perhaps that is sufficient for now. He has tried in
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the past to persuade Andrew to leave Royal Lodge, but
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to no avail. Andrew has a cast iron tenancy agreement,
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and as long as he can abide by the terms
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of that agreement and pay the costs of upkeep, it's
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next to impossible to make him leave. I think the
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King now intends to let that matter rest, at least
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for the time being. I think the Royal family is
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now on better footing. Bond described Andrew as a canker
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eating into the institution of monarchy, noting that while headlines
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about the Epstein scandal would not disappear entirely, at least
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the Palace can say they have taken what is almost
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the ultimate sanction public humiliation once again for Andrew and
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the enforced relinquishing of his titles. Turning to the Prince
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of Wales's, Bond suggested that William was instrumental pushing for
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the move. I think William has been pushing for tougher
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action against his uncle for a long time. It must
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be so dispiriting to be working hard to make the
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monarchy relatable, modern and a force for a good in
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the world, only for its reputation to be so relentlessly
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trashed by lurid headlines about Andrew. I suspect he was
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heavily involved in the discussions about what action should be taken,
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and I think William was the driving force in twisting
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Andrew's arms so far behind his back that he finally
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squealed that he would give up his title. He is
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set on making changes to the monarchy, and once his
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mind is made up, he is completely focused on achieving
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his aims. The Andrew problem was becoming an intolerable obstruction
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to those aims, and William was determined to clear the way.
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On the impact to Andrew's daughters, she adds, whatever else
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you might think about Andrew and Sarah, they are brilliant
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parents and have brought up two very decent young women.
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They will remain princesses and be welcome at events with
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the rest of the royal family, such as Christmas at Sandringham.
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They are extreme close to their parents and have stayed
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loyal through thick and thin. I'm sure they'll be supporting
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Andrew and Sarah through this latest crisis, just as they
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have been there for them in the past. They must
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believe their father's Protestations of innocence, otherwise they surely couldn't
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live with themselves, and there have it. If you'd like
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by Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermott, this Palace
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Intrigue and God Turns