Mountbatten Windsor: What Next? (Pt 2) 

Mountbatten Windsor: What Next? (Pt 2) 

by TIM HICKS

Tim’s article Duke of York: What next? here, in which he called for the former Prince Andrew to be stripped of his titles has proven to be one of the most popular the NYE has ever run. Written before the announcement that the former Prince Andrew was to be stripped of his titles and known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor the article obviously reflected public opinion.

In Part 2 of this series Tim follows up to cover some of the other issues currently arising from this sordid scandal.

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Introduction

As shown in the statement from Buckingham Palace reproduced above, King Charles has moved to safeguard the Windsor dynasty by stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of all his titles.

Gone are:

• His knighthoods as a Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
• His titles of Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. The City of York Council unanimously voted to remove his Freedom of the City of York in 2022.
• His honorary rank of Vice Admiral RN. (All of his other military affiliations (Colonel of the grenadier Guards etc) had been returned to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2019).
• Most tellingly of all, Letters Patent were issued by his brother King Charles III removing his styles of Prince and His Royal Highness. Henceforth he will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

Mountbatten Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also lose the use of Royal Lodge his thirty-bed mansion in Windsor Great Park. He will move to a house on the Sandringham Estate provided by King Charles in the New Year. Security will be paid for by King Charles. He will receive his naval pension, a six figure grant to pay for the move and an annual stipend from King Charles.

This seems to me to be a satisfactory series of first steps.

However, in my view this should have happened in 2019 after the disastrous Newsnight interview, when it became clear that Mountbatten Windsor had maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein, even though he knew he was a paedophile.

While King Charles has finally bitten on the bullet and disowned his brother, this has only happened because public opinion has forced him to.

That having been said, it must be a terrible thing to have to face up to conduct of the sort his brother has indulged in. So his reluctance to act is to some degree understandable. I cannot help but feel very sorry for Andrew’s family. Both for the anguish they must feel, but also for the damage he has done to an institution that they cherish and have devoted themselves to supporting.

Where now for Mountbatten Windsor?

It has been suggested that Mountbatten Windsor should also lose his South Atlantic Medal, which is the Campaign Medal awarded to him in recognition of his service as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War.

He fought very bravely in the Falklands conflict and performed the same missions as other pilots in the Fleet Air Arm. His South Atlantic Medal is not an honorary award. It was awarded for honourable service in a war, where he risked his life. You can’t re-write history, so in my opinion it should not be removed from him.

There have been three investigations by the Metropolitan Police into the allegations that Mountbatten Windsor sex-trafficked a seventeen-year-old woman into the UK for the purpose of having sex with him. All conducted no doubt at great expense to the UK taxpayer. All three were closed with no further action. If anyone else was accused of this (the crime of sex-trafficking is not confined to minors), they would be arrested and interviewed under caution in a police station. But Mountbatten Windsor was left alone and not in any way inconvenienced by any of these investigations. This stinks. The investigation should be re-opened and conducted by a force other than the Metropolitan Police.

Mountbatten Windsor is now under criminal investigation for passing the date of birth and social security number of his principal accuser Virginia Giuffre to the Metropolitan Police and asking them to investigate her. Presumably to use the police to obtain information to discredit her. He may also be investigated in connection with allegations that while working as a UK Trade Representative -an official position- he abused his expenses, accepted bribes and personally benefitted from deals he made for himself.

In a new low, he has also been summoned to appear before a US Congress investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. This summons is not legally enforceable and in my view there is not a snowball in Hell’s chance of Mountbatten Windsor voluntarily going to the United States to be questioned before Congress. Should he be found to have lied before congress, he could be arrested. He could also be arrested in connection with the various criminal investigations that are ongoing in the US.

The Royal Family are a constitutional monarchy and must be subject to the rule of law. If charges are brought in either jurisdiction, it is essential that Mountbatten Windsor stands trial and is treated according to law. The same as the rest of us. The Royal Family cannot facilitate him fleeing into exile in a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the UK or US.

Ms Ferguson has been divorced from Mountbatten Windsor for thirty years and no longer performs any royal duties. It would be wrong for her to be included in the accommodation arrangements for her ex-husband.

According to media reports, Ms Ferguson is also under criminal investigation for allegedly misusing charitable funds. She has not commented on these allegations. The NYE also passes no comment on them, other than that these allegations should be impartially investigated by the police without fear or favour, to preserve the principle that we are all equal under the law.

His daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also not working royals, but do considerable charity work, which is to be respected. It is wrong for children to be punished for the sins of their parents, so they should not be stripped of their titles.

However, Princess Beatrice has a grace-and-favour apartment at St. James’s Palace and Princess Eugenie has a grace-and-favour three bedroom house in the grounds of Kensington Palace. They are not working royals and are wealthy in their own right, it is impossible to justify this arrangement and I think it should stop.

The title ‘Duke of York’

The decision of King Charles to strip Mountbatten Windsor and Ms Ferguson of the titles of Duke and Duchess of York are entirely appropriate. It reflects public revulsion for the type of crimes Epstein is known to have committed and with which both Mountbatten Windsor and Ms Ferguson are forever linked.

This title has existed in various forms since the fourteenth century and was traditionally given to the second son of the monarch, reflecting the importance historically of the City of York.

King George V who led Great Britain in the First World War and his son George VI who led it during the second both held this title honourably. So it also saddens me that the ancient title Duke of York is now tainted by its association with Epstein and child abuse, as a result of Mountbatten Windsor’s dissolute behaviour.

I fear the title Duke of York has now fallen into such disrepute that it may never be used again. If so, then this is a great loss historically for the City of York, the County of Yorkshire and the country as a whole.

I can only hope it will be granted in time to Princess Charlotte as Duchess of York and that she will restore it to good standing.

Mountbatten Windsor: Who Next?

One positive aspect of this sad and sordid scandal is that it has established a quick and effective mechanism for the monarch to remove titles from a member of the Royal Family that indulges in unacceptable conduct.

Hopefully, this will have a salutary effect on His Royal Highness Prince Harry Duke of Sussex and his wife Her Royal Highness Megan, Duchess of Sussex, who is also a princess, but by convention does not use the title. They do not perform royal duties, but have made millions by cashing in on their titles and fame as members of the Royal Family on the one hand, while publicly denigrating the monarchy on the other.

If they continue to vilify the monarchy, they should also be deprived of their titles.