Khaberni - King Charles III acted quickly, as members of the Windsor family always do, and somewhat harshly in dealing with his scandal-ridden brother, announcing that he had stripped Andrew of the title of "Prince", and that he will soon be expelled from his residency in Windsor.
Small details, like Andrew having a strict lease at Royal Lodge, or that he was born a prince by being the son of Queen Elizabeth II, turn out to be annoying details, and after days of painful headlines, the king's brother will henceforth be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and will soon leave Royal Lodge.
It was clear that the matter was irrevocably decided, according to the royal press release.
Royal historian Ed Owens said: "Charles is acting with a duty to preserve the monarchy, and to maintain its reputation by sacrificing his brother," adding that the monarchy could have "spared itself a lot of trouble" if these actions had been taken after Andrew's disastrous BBC interview in 2019.
Harry and Meghan
When Prince Harry and Meghan, who were complaining about harassment by the tabloid press, proposed a new practical arrangement, Queen Elizabeth II simply glanced at it.
She clarified that they could not be "half in and half out," and that they live abroad part-time while continuing to perform their official duties and maintain their security protection.
Owens pointed out that in this scenario, Elizabeth herself might have been more open to compromise, but the royal court members were not, saying: "The institution is run by cold-blooded individuals who do not get swept into emotional wars."
Princess Margaret
In the fifties, the love story between Princess Margaret and Captain Peter Townsend captivated Britain. Townsend, the handsome officer serving in the royal household, loved the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth, who was charming and fun, and wanted to marry her. However, Townsend was divorced, which was a "dangerous" problem under the Anglican Church rules, of which Elizabeth was the head. The queen asked her sister to wait a year, and the officer was sent to Brussels.
Owens said that although it's not exactly known what was discussed between the two sisters, it is believed that the queen made it clear that if Margaret married Townsend, she would have to give up her royal duties and the privileges that come with them.
King Edward VIII
This was not the case in the previous generation. The abdication of King Edward VIII remains the ultimate royal sacrifice. Less than a year into his reign, Edward VIII preferred love over royalty, or perhaps the royalty preferred the throne over him, as the government and the Church, which at that time opposed remarriage after divorce, hindered his desire to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American.
He said in a speech to the nation: "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to perform the duties of king as I would wish, without the help and support of the woman I love."
King George V
During World War I, the royal family's relationships with Germany were scrutinized, and it was not the first time. King George V ruled Britain during the global conflict, and his role as a king in wartime required patriotism and realism. In 1917, with escalating anti-German sentiment, he changed the royal family's name from "Saxe-Coburg" to Windsor, which sounds entirely British, and stripped his German relatives of their British titles.
He also refused to grant asylum to his cousin, Tsar Nicholas II, the king of Russia, his ally in the war, fearing that sheltering a deposed tsar would stoke social unrest at home. According to the "Washington Post"
Royal historian Ed Owens:
.King Charles acts with a duty to preserve the monarchy and its reputation through the sacrifice of his brother.
