Andrew Lownie said that the decision was a sign that the Royal Family are cutting off “this limb before it infects the whole body politics”.
Prince William had a hand in the decision to stop Prince Andrew from using his royal titles, the author of a bombshell book has suggested to LBC News.
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Getty
Prince William had a hand in the decision to stop Prince Andrew from using his royal titles, the author of a bombshell book has suggested to LBC News.
Andrew Lownie, author of “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” said that the decision to stop the royal from using his Duke of York title among others, was a sign that the Firm are cutting off “this limb before it infects the whole body politics”.
The Prince announced on Friday that he would be giving up the titles following a discussion with his brother, King Charles.
It comes after a slew of scandals for Andrew including his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as dealings with an alleged spy for China.
A memoir by Prince Andrew’s late accuser, Virginia Giuffre, to whom he paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case, is also due to be published in the next few days.
Speaking to James Hanson on LBC News, Mr Lownie said: “It’s surprising. Prince Andrew has gone very quickly, but I think the Palace realised they needed to get ahead of this story.
“I think I detect the hand of Prince William here, that they needed to take decisive action and they have.”
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Speaking to James Hanson on LBC News, Mr Lownie said: “It’s surprising. Prince Andrew has gone very quickly, but I think the Palace realised they needed to get ahead of this story.
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Alamy
Andrew Lownie, author of “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” said that the decision to stop the royal from using his Duke of York title among others, was a sign that the Royal Family cutting him off.
Picture:
Getty
On the wider ramifications of Andrew’s scandals, Lownie was scathing in his assessment.
He told James: “I think he’s done enormous damage and I think this is why they’ve had to move swiftly to cut him off. People have been talking about the biggest crisis since the Abdication [of Edward VIII] and I think there are hints of that.”
During his interview, Mr Lownie theorised that the wellbeing of Andrew’s children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were factors in his decision to voluntarily relinquish his titles.
He said: “By voluntarily giving up his titles, he’s made it a lot easier for the palace because otherwise it would have required an act of Parliament to strip him of his title.
“I think he’s transferred his ambitions to his daughters and presumably the deal is that they will be sort of left alone and maybe there may be some benefits for them in the future, so they’re going to still be part of the Royal Family and he’s kind of fallen on his sword for them.”