PRINCE Andrew remains a “potential embarrassment” to the Royal Family, an expert said today.
Michael Cole, a former Royal correspondent and spokesman for Mohamed Al Fayed, told GB News it meant the disgraced Prince would remain a “semi-detached” member of the Firm.
Speaking to GB News today he said: “He is in a very difficult position. I mean, he’s a semi-detached member of the royal family.
“He’s at Royal Lodge, the Queen Mother’s old residence in Windsor Great Park, but he is a potential embarrassment.
“There is a problem because earlier this year, we will remember that he paid damages of £12m to Mrs. Virginia Giuffre to settle a civil case in New York. Prince Andrew said he never met Mrs. Giuffre when she was a 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, and he says he never had sex with her and that he didn’t know the woman as he never met her.
“Well, he gave her 12 million pounds in damages. Now, Mrs. Giuffre is involved with at least two other cases which may come to court in 2023. And the way these things go, he cannot be sure that he will escape the spotlight and that his name will not be mentioned again. These are all very fraught and difficult times so there’s a lot to be apprehensive about.”
Mr Cole said the Royal Family would also be concerned about the new series of The Crown, which will land on Netflix on Wednesday. Season Five will focus on the 1990s and the 1990s, which were the desperate decade for the royal family.
Some have called for Netflix to add a disclaimer at the beginning of new episodes of The Crown, making it clear the series is fictionally created – even if it is based on some real events.
But Mr Cole argued: “I feel neutral about that [a disclaimer], because most people factor that in whenever they’re watching something, they use their common sense. You don’t abdicate your common sense when you’re watching anything.
Another upcoming hurdle for the royal family is the intended release of Prince Harry’s autobiography in early 2023.
Commenting on its release, Mr Cole added: “That book is going to be a very unwelcome late Christmas present as it’s going to be published on January the 10th.
“That will not be favourite reading at Clarence House or Buckingham Palace. Every chapter will be a headline and the headlines will write themselves because even if he’s toned it down, as reports have said he has done, there is bound to be tremendous criticism because he feels very slighted.
“I mean, he will not spare us his anger, his ire and his resentment that he feels that his wife was unfairly treated, was maligned in some way, which caused them to leave this country. And he believes that he knows who caused it all.
“Now, I think the book would be an absolute damp squib if it didn’t go into those areas. Apparently the publisher, Penguin Random House, has paid an enormous sum of £17m US dollars; it must be the greatest advance ever. Well, they’ll be expecting a bit of a bang for their buck.
“So if Harry pulls his punches, I think they will become a laughing stock because people will say it, they’ll buy it and they’ll say, ‘Well, here’s the sandwich, where’s the meat?'”
