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| Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (right) & Kaiser Franz Joseph II of Austria-Hungary, the previous 5th longest-reigning Sovereign |
Key to Freedom's owner & abuser:
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| Prince Andrew, Duke of York (left) & Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019) |
In August 2019 US financier Jeffrey Epstein, convicted & charged for sex trafficking of underage females, was found dead in his prison cell in a possible suicide. Following his death a lot of suspended criminal charges against him went unanswered, but sues by several victims to his "collegues in offends" remained. One among the latter is the second son of British Queen, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. His Royal Highness has undertaken various public engagements as a full-working royal & even found charities, one of them - the Key to Freedom - empowering women who suffered from sexual assaults in the past. A divorse since 1996, he is the father of two daughters, Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie, who - while not full-working royals - have royal titles as The Queen's male-line grandchildren.
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| Prince Andrew allegedly had sexual contact three times with Virginia Roberts (pict.) who then was an underage sex slave |
Prince Andrew had met Epstein & his socialite former partner Ghislaine Maxwell in the 1990s. While himself the prince stated they were not so close, evident sources tell they had an extend friendship, & were seen together attending several public & private events, including a party with Donald J. Trump in a luxurious Florida residence. It is also reported that both men hosted each other in private estates & that the Duke (& even his former wife) were benefited by either Epstein's jets, or money donations to clear debts. Among other accusations, Andrew was alleged to having sex three times with Epstein's former sex-slave, Virginia Roberts (then an underage), while another one, Johanna Sjoberg, claimed he touched her inappropriately during a night stay at Jeffrey's mansion, where she was also serving as Roberts. The Prince, in several interviews, with the most recent one hosted at the palace, denied all accusations & claimed he was elsewhere when these things happened. This interview however was crushed by another of Virginia Roberts, where she emotionally recalled the abuses she suffered by him, while at the same time insiders of Andrew's close circle confirmed his exact whereabouts, not as he had pointed.
In the wake of this quick & unsteadfast development of situation last fall, Prince Andrew issued a statement on November 20 (2019), announcing his intention to "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future", which his mother, The Queen, agreed with. His Royal Highness conceded with the fact that his case brought a major disruption to the image & work of British Royal family and expressed his regret for his ill-judged assossiation with the sex-offender. He finally sympathised the victims & expressed his willingness to cooperate with them in possibly required future investigations. The 59-year-old Prince made this announcement on the 72nd wedding anniversary of his parents, Queen Elizabeth (93) & Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (98). This move does not affect either of his status or patronages, while he will continue to receive his public foundings as a senior royal (8th in line of succession to the British throne). Even his 60th birthday on February 19 (2020), for which several pre-planned formal events (& large celebrations) were cancelled, will still be celebrated in a private luncheon, hosted by The Queen, and government arrangements of flying union Jack's (UK) flags in official buildings on that day - the birthday a child of the monarch - is still in due, as normal.
Low-key Royal wedding' consequence:
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| Princess Beatrice of York & Edo Mapelli Mozzi |
The summarised situation affects the position & royal prestige not only of the Duke of York himself, but his immediate family as well. While Prince Andrew was ambitious for his daughters to take a role, similar to the sons of his elder brother (Charles, Prince of Wales), in the aftermath of such circumstances it becomes even less possible than before. Beatrice & Eugenie do undertake few royal engagements & are entitled to the style of Royal Highness & title of Princesses of York (by birth); and at the same time are allowed to lead a private life & work. However, changes in 'royal treatment' can be evident from now; Princess Eugenie's royal wedding in October 2018 was a public event, held at Windsor Castle, involving carriage procession, live broadcast & publicly founded secutiry measures. Meanwhile Princess Beatrice, who is going to marry her fiance, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, on May 29 this year (as was recently announced), will have a much more simple wedding, held in private at St. James' (within Buckingham) palace, without a live broadcast & more, popular events.
From full-working royals to first class royal celebrities:
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| At their wedding in 2018, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle were the most popular(ly viral) royal couple in the world |
Then comes the most mentioned part of "royal crisis" - TRH The Duke & Duchess of Sussex. Prince Henry (Harry), the second son of the Prince of Wales, was happily married to African-American former actress & feminist activist Meghan Markle in May 2018. Their royal wedding at Windsor Castle was broadcasted worldwide & Meghan's entrance to such a long-rooted prestigious dynasty had been widely seen as a new chapter in its "old fashioned" establishment. Their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor was born in May last year & after their decision, didn't take a royal title. Their situation, however, was not one to be dealt for easy, as their over-reproduced popularity. Several tabloids of the British media highlighted ocassional dedications about Their Royal Highnesses' private affairs with often unconfirmed reports that created untruthful opinions about their family life & relations with British royal family.
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| The Queen & Prince Philip (left) were pleased to welcome their newest great-grandchild, born in May last year |
The tensions gradually increased & in late September (2019) Prince Harry 'filled a claim' to the High Court against the Mail & Associated Newspaper (its parent company) for illegal use of (the Duchess') private information, "infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018". In a statement he issued on October 1, the Duke used a personal tone, expressing conserns for his wife becoming a victim of manipulation by a "ruthless campaign" of powerful media forces. He urged the more than ever need of a free & responsible media in today's world, and took a strong stance against bullying & malicious acts of the abovementioned British taboids. HRH defended his wife saying that she didn't change from the woman she was a year earlier & stood decisively not to allow history repeating itself, after having foreseen the danger of his wife falling a victim of the same "long & disturbing patern of behaviour" as his late mother - Diana, Princess of Wales. The prince notably mentioned the unnoticed, but important public support they enjoyed.
The decisive step of the Duke & Duchess of Sussex:
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| The royal changes were discussed with The Queen & other involved parties |
That amount of public support was what the Duke & Duchess used in a joint statement they issued on January 8, 2020, via their newly-created official website. Through it they announced their decision to "step back" from their currently known roles, retaining their committment to serve HM The Queen & their responsibilities over the numerous founds & patronages they lead. This decision was meant mostly so TRH could become financially independent (by the taxpayer), attend less formal engagaments in Britain & split their time between UK & Canada in order to raise their son in privacy. Buckingham palace announced the same day that discussions about these changes with the Sussexes are yet 'at an early state'. Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan had been an inevitable support for Her Majesty as full working royals, participating or heading multiple charities & private foundations, addressing mental health, sexual violence, wildlife protection, & many more similar issues. After scheduled talks on January 13 between The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge (Henry's elder brother) & the Duke of Sussex; a statement with a notice on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II was published, which in a partially personal node, announced Her Majesty's agreement to that flexible adaptation of her grandson & his wife. That of course would mean that the latter should not anymore be listed as senior royals & styled "Royal Highnesses" in which they have had conceded. Elizabeth stated among others, that while she would prefer they to remain full-working royals, she understands & respects their decision; the transition is going to be finalized by early Spring (2020).
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| Discussions bwtween The Queen, Prince of Wales & Dukes of Cambridge & Sussex took place on Jan, 13 |
MEGXIT or the loudest restoration of ordinary roles in a royal family?
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| Ordinary the 'major' British royals are among direct heirs |
In short, that is what took place last month & was made an ill-treated highlight story in all royal media worldwide, often overshadowing several more important events from the wide public eye. For the British Royal family, though this intention wasn't unexpected, it turned into a radical way of unpredictable speed. And the overal press attention - which described it as a "Megxit", dubbling to the ongoing that time Brexit proceedings - made it more difficult to be dealt with privately. But in other cases, such changes are more predictable & happen (if ever) ordinarly & without wider speculations. Such an example is Sweden, when King Carl XVI Gustaf recently removed five of his seven grandchildren from senior future royal responsibilities. Or course, (UK's) Prince Harry is in a position of future monarchs' younger son & brother, and thus his certainly expected major royal position was more difficult to be avoided. Put it also that through his mother, who was a worldwide royal celebrity, and her fate due to her over-popularity, it's now inevitable that he & his brother (as well as their families) will remain on the media spectrum regardless their future positions. But there could still be another approach - & it should be such, for the survival & healthy renewal of British Royal family, without turning it to a cheaply reproduced empty show of non-royal celebrities. There is not a crisis at all, such as the Duke of Sussex was never a direct heir to the throne. And since his brother is happily married with three young children & Prince Harry - who remains in line of succession - occupies just the 5th place of his grandmother's heirs, this voluntary reformation of his role, especially after it was agreed & planned by the senior royal family's elite, the only thing that is necessary to be done, is a concrete reporting of everything that happened without any further speculation & baseless fear, or even positions for & against their wish to stand out of spotlight. This is not the story of the year, not even the month; its just a causual evolution within the multimembered British Royal family towards its certain senior roles, which happens to have taken an unpredictable course! For Queen Elizabeth II it may have been indeed a couple of difficult months. However, such as back in early 1990s, when a wider spectrum of disasters occured, she remains evidently steadfast & adaptive enough to overcome them, as well as the recently confirmed separation of her eldest grandson from his wife (of 12 years).
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| Peter & Autumn Phillips recently confirmed their separation |
There is the publication about natural (but predictable) royal House changes in Sweden last October:
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| So... who is going to prevail as senior 'royal' in popularity ? |
Previous publications, relative to the topic (about members of British Royal family):
& Links of further information:
