Following the release of further information regarding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's association with Jeffrey Epstein, the former duke was demoted by King Charles. According to one royal expert, Andrew's sister, Princess Anne, reportedly found the change quite "difficult" to process.
Writing for the Daily Mail, royal expert Richard Kay mused that "many have been wondering how Anne views the crisis surrounding Andrew." According to Kay, "Until last Christmas at least, Anne was still holding a sympathetic and tolerant line towards Andrew—she apparently made a point of telephoning Royal Lodge, where he was still holed up, on Christmas Day when the rest of the family were at Sandringham."
However, new revelations about Andrew's friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein reportedly changed Anne's opinion about her brother.
"[S]he has also been angry with him for his links to Jeffrey Epstein and the shadow they have cast over the royals, and has questioned him about them," Kay wrote. "The former prince's love of money and unchecked libido were as well-known inside the family as they were outside it."
According to the outlet, Princess Anne allegedly suggested that Andrew could temporarily move on to the Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire where she lives. Per Kay, Anne thought that Andrew could use her home "as a bolthole when the calls for him to be evicted from Royal Lodge grew shrill."
Kay continued, "This was not just an act of Christian charity but a willingness to surround him with family love—and totally in character."
Unfortunately for Andrew, Anne's opinion has reportedly changed in recent months. As Kay noted, "[H]er attitude is said to have hardened with the release of the Epstein files."
Initially, Anne reportedly "found it difficult to fathom that the son, brother, and uncle of monarchs could no longer be an actual royal." But as Kay reported, "After the emergence of compromising photographs and damaging claims about him...she came to share the family view that unless Andrew was distanced, the risk of reputational damage to the institution would be considerable."
Per the outlet, Princess Anne was also "shaken" by her brother's arrest, but "has continued to be in contact with him" and "has been concerned about Andrew's mental welfare as his world has imploded."
