Buckingham Palace Going Through a Rough Patch
We learned recently that Queen Elizabeth II is planning a transfer of power in the upcoming years. As of right now, the rumours have been addressed by plenty of British news outlets, but the royal family hasn’t yet released a press release.
Prince Charles had a discussion with Prince Philip on November 26, to address this possibility.
But for all of this to happen, only one option is available while the Queen is alive. She needs to abdicate at her will; usually this is for health reasons. According to journalists, it could happen after her 95th birthday, which would be in 18 months, in August 2021.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, would then, if tradition is respected, become Britain's next king, at a fairly old age (71 to be exact). In practice, Charles has already been running the family estate for a while already and has attended most of the ceremonial duties abroad.
Queen Elizabeth II has been Britain’s head of state since 1952. She took over the job after the passing of her father, King George IV.
The royals really do not have any real political power nor should they.
The recent scandal involving Prince Andrew and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein may be weighed in the balance and influence the timing for the Queen’s decision to abdicate.
Prince Andrew’s Troubling Relation With Jeffrey Epstein
Coming at the worst possible moment, one of Queen Elizabeth II sons, Prince Andrew, is caught in a scandal. He acknowledges that he previously had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased billionaire sex offender. Before Epstein passed away in jail this August, he was awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls between 2002 and 2005.
The Prince’s relationship with Epstein could implicate some politicians, including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Further digging into Prince Andrew’s personal activities could also damage the royal family reputation of being cleaner than clean.
Some 1992 NBC archive footage showed Trump partying with Epstein in Mar-a-Lago surrounded by cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins professional football teams. Earlier this year the President said that he was never a fan of Epstein, that video shows us the opposite. We will need to wait for the end of Epstein’s investigation to see if Trump is implicated in illegal activities.
For his part, Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jets on multiple occasions, according to flight records obtained by NBC News.
Epstein had lots of elite connections. He made many contacts while he was a calculus and physics teacher, and then more when he made his mark in the world of finance. After, in 1982, he launched his firm, J. Epstein and Co., a money-management firm, for wealthy individuals. He made gobs of money from deals that are now under investigation; he was then was able to buy properties around the globe and private jets to travel between his properties.
He owned the entire island of Little St. James, in the US Virgin Islands, and this was his declared primary residence.
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein met in 1999; always sharing a close bond. “I think it would be to some extent a stretch to say we were close friends”, said Prince Andrew, during a BBC interview.
“ I seized contact with him after I was aware that he was under investigation, and that was later on in 2006”, said Prince Andrew.
But even after Epstein was registered as a sex offender, in 2008, the billionaire was invited to Windsor Castle, to celebrate Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday. Prince Andrew then stated that he was not in touch with his friend, Epstein, again until 2010, when he stayed at one of his houses, in New York City. Quite surprising is the fact that he decided to stay with Epstein, at his Manhattan mansion, in 2010, after Epstein was released from prison.
Andrew said he has never thought for a moment that his friend was engaged in any kind of sex trafficking activities.
One of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, says she had three sexual encounters with the Prince in the early 2000s, arranged by Epstein.
The Duke of York now denies that he ever met with Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was 17 years old, even though there is proof of this in a photo taken at the time.
Is Prince Andrew only a bad apple or does he represent an elitist and untouchable delusion that some classes still hold onto? To be continued as more accusations may come to light in the near future.
Prince Andrew now says that he will step down from public royal duties indefinitely, in part because of the fallout from his terrible interview that he gave to the BBC.
The man that is eighth in the order of succession to the crown says that his dead friend “obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming”, which scandalized viewers, including the journalist carrying out the interview. In the 49 minute exchange, Andrew did not seem to have any sympathy for Epstein’s victims.
The debacle continues,and no one in the royal family seems to be able to control the message.
No one should be above the law. Not even the President of the United States, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct by 25 women since the 1970s.
Prince Andrew is now required to cooperate with the FBI in their investigation on Epstein.
Republicans Are Stacking Arguments Together
With the Epstein-Prince Andrew controversy, will there may be more discussions about the abolition of the monarchy. Luckily, Prince William is less of a polarizing figure than his dad. It will not be forgotten that it was Prince Charles that sparked a media frenzy against the monarchy when his inappropriate behavior with his mistress became public, while still being married to Princess Diana. The adultery was made public in a 1994 documentary.
Republicans in the United Kingdom, as well as in other Commonwealth countries, may take this opportunity to criticize the monarchy. They could demand that their countries change their political regimes for a presidential system, as it is the case in the United States of America.
Republic, a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom, is one of many who believe that the political system currently in place is outdated. They campaign for the abolition of the monarchy and that citizens vote directly for a head of state.
On December 1, Republic called on a major independent inquiry into the royal household.
“Revelations about Andrew give a new urgency to calls for a wider investigation. Prince Charles will soon be king and the public deserve to know if these problems are limited to Andrew or are part of a wider problem of corruption within the royal household”, said Graham Smith, Republic CEO’s.
The United Kingdom is already dealing with many uncertainties. A Brexit deal doesn’t seem imminent and English citizens will go to the polls on December 12 to elect a new Prime Minister. If Boris Jonson wins, the Brexit saga may finally come to an end.
But, if Jeremy Corbin, leader of the Labour Party, finds a way through this to become Prime Minister , everything starts again.
