As the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, there are not many people who can boss Prince William around — in fact, there’s probably just the one and his name is King Charles. William’s dishy new look might be leaving folks swooning over his “major king vibes,” but he’s not monarch yet which means he still has to do what his father and sovereign tells him — even if it’s something he really, really doesn’t want to do.
For instance, you’d imagine that hanging out with Prince Harry would be at the top of William’s list of things to avoid at all costs, but actually there is another member of the family who he’d prefer to keep his distance from even more than his estranged little sibling. Unluckily for Wills, it’s this disgraced individual who the king ordered him to appear in public with just recently. Much to the surprise of everyone, including William and his unwanted uncle.
King Charles “overruled” William’s objections and forced him into an uncomfortable family reunion
During the Royals’ recent summer vacation to their Balmoral estate in Scotland, something unlikely happened — William and Kate Middleton were photographed driving to church with Prince Andrew, William’s uncle who is rarely seen with the other Royals these days. Not since the fallout from his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein saw him removed from public duty back in 2019.
It turns out the Waleses didn’t do this good deed for their dishonored relative of their volition, however, as it’s been reported that King Charles “ordered” his son to give Andrew a lift. As per what a “Balmoral insider” told The Mirror, there was some confusion over how Andrew was going to get to the church on the Sunday morning this incident occurred, until he received a phone call telling him the unexpected news.
The fact that Andrew was allowed to ride with William and Kate, and therefore be snapped alongside the future king and queen, was a big deal for the Duke of York and he was noted to have been delighted by the turn of events. “It’s more than he (Andrew) could have wished for,” the source claimed.
If William had his way, though, he would rather have steered clear of being photographed alongside Andrew altogether. It’s claimed that William had “absolutely no desire” to be connected to the Duke of York in this way, but his wishes were “overruled” by King Charles. “It appears he may have had his wings clipped somewhat,” the source said, of William.
William has never been much of a fan of his uncle, it seems, ever since Andrew was rude to Princess Catherine back in the early days of their courtship. What’s more, William and his family stand to move into Andrew’s sprawling residence, Windsor’s Royal Lodge, if he is ultimately booted out, as has been much rumored.
On the other hand, Charles seems to have done something of a 180-degree turn with his feelings towards his younger brother. While Charles is known to have convinced the late Queen Elizabeth II to cut Andrew out of the picture, now it appears that his mood has softened. Sources note that he has told the other senior Royals that Andrew will henceforth be welcomed back into the family, at least in terms of private gatherings. “The King feels he has an awful lot on his in-tray and this is one issue he wants to draw a line under,” it is said.
Even so, His Majesty may want to be careful in embracing Andrew too closely, as there was a reason he was removed from the public eye in the first place. Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central who attempted to pass a parliament bill stripping Andrew of his dukedom, warned that “any perceived public rehabilitation” for Andrew would be “unpalatable.” Maskell stated: “Any public rehabilitation of the Duke of York is certainly not something the country as a whole would welcome at all.”
You can include William himself in that statement, too. If the king gives William a choice between cozying up to Andrew or his little brother, Harry might find himself with a surprise guest at his front door in Montecito, California.
Published: Sep 17, 2024 01:06 pm