The Queen Reportedly ‘Went to Her Grave’ Believing Andrew Was ‘Innocent’ of His Alleged Crimes—She Saw Him ‘1st & Foremost’ as Her Son
The recent arrest of Andrew for suspicion of misconduct in public office has rekindled the debate about his Epstein connections and, almost as importantly, how much the British royal family knew about it. Were they always aware of how involved Andrew was with Epstein? Did they consciously choose to protect him for all these years? Let’s remember that reports indicate the Queen provided the money with which Andrew settled a civil lawsuit with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
According to RadarOnline, the answer is no. Queen Elizabeth II did not know. A royal source told the outlet: “The Queen went to her grave believing her favorite son Andrew was innocent of Epstein-linked crimes – that belief never wavered, even as pressure mounted from all sides.”
Related: Here’s what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth
The source added: “For her, this was deeply personal. She saw Andrew first and foremost as her son, and that shaped how she viewed the allegations. Even in the face of damaging headlines and that Newsnight interview, she held firm to the view that he had not behaved improperly.”
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers writes in his upcoming book Queen Elizabeth II: “Despite (Andrew’s) car-crash interview on Newsnight, and other apparent revelations, the Queen did not believe he had behaved improperly. It is fortunate that she did not live to witness the denouement.”
But she was still very upset by the allegations. “Andrew’s problems caused the Queen considerable distress in the last years of her life. She was deeply concerned about his future. One idea, developed in the last year of her life, was to set up a foundation that Andrew could administer.”
However, the book insists that while the Queen tried to protect her son and was troubled by the allegations, she did not believe there was any merit to them. The Queen did take steps to have her son step down as a working royal before her death, but it was only recently that his brother, King Charles, stripped Andrew of his titles and evicted him from his home at Royal Lodge.
Despite that, Andrew remains 8th in line to the British throne and is currently living at his brother’s estate in Sandringham.
The outlet also reports the queen spent years “blind” to her son’s behavior, which ranged from “pure idiocy” to “childish temper tantrums,” and included “pervy” treatment of women.
All of this comes amid recent reports from Express that Andrew and Charles will “never be seen together again. Royal biographer Andrew Lownie told Hello about the siblings: “I don’t think we’ll see Andrew at Charles’s funeral.”
King Charles released a statement right after Andrew’s arrest, saying, “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.”
He added, “In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
