EXCLUSIVE: Prince Andrew facing ‘worse security situation than Harry’ as titles stripped
Richard Aitch, an author and security expert with decades of close protection experience, explained the dire situation now facing Andrew – one he says is ‘worse than Prince Harry’
Andrew is now facing an ‘even worse’ security situation than Prince Harry after his remaining royal titles were stripped(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A top security expert has warned that Andrew is facing “an even worse situation than Prince Harry right now” as the former duke has his remaining titles stripped and is forced to move out of his Windsor home.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has had his royal titles, including prince, removed by King Charles amid fears over what more could be uncovered from his friendship with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Buckingham Palace announced last night that the King has started the formal process to strip the disgraced ex-duke of his royal titles as well as the fact that Andrew is being kicked out of his 30-bedroom Royal Lodge home over the “peppercorn” rent that saw him barely pay anything for the last 20 years. The former prince has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Having already taken a step back from public duties, and giving up his Duke of York title, Andrew was no longer eligible to receive taxpayer funded security afforded to members of the Royal Family through RAVEC (the Rotal and VIP Executive Committee). For the last few years, he has had private security, however, King Charles cut off the cash flow funding Andrew’s £3 million-a-year security detail last year. Now, an expert has warned of the dire situation Andrew faces.
King Charles has started the process to strip Andrew of his titles and forced him from his 30-room home(Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Richard Aitch, an author and security expert with decades of experience in close protection, spoke to the Mirror about what the future of Andrew’s security could look like – and whether he would be eligible for protection from the specialist police force assigned to the royals. He told The Mirror : “It’s going to be a very tricky situation for both Andrew and also the police and making a determination as to what happens, because they’ve got to tread very carefully bearing in mind what their response was to Harry. Now, Andrew is in an even worse situation than Harry right now.
Andrew is in a ‘worse’ situation than Prince Harry when it comes to security, an expert has warned(Image: Getty Images)
“When you consider that all former prime ministers who no longer serve the country still receive police protection at UK taxpayer funded expenses until their dying day, one has to question firstly, Prince Harry is fifth in line to the throne and doesn’t get anything in the UK, really, even though [RAVEC] say case by case basis. And then on the flip side, is how then can the police realistically provide any level of security to Andrew given he’s eighth in line to the throne and in a worse situation?
“So he’s been stripped of his titles, stripped of his duties, even though it was a decision by Harry not to participate in royal duties as such, the actual function has been stripped from Andrew – he can’t. And literally he is a civilian like everyone else in the UK, so in effect by virtue of that fact alone, he shouldn’t receive police protection.”
Andrew lost his taxpayer funded protection several years ago, with King Charles then ceasing to fund his private protection last year(Image: Getty)
He explained that he believes it would be unlikely that Andrew would be afforded any security at taxpayer expense through the police, saying he would be “bemused if Prince Andrew gets anything whatsoever, and that includes residential and estate security”. He went on to esay : “I’m sure that if you were to sit down with members of the committee of RAVEC and ask them ‘what is Andrew going to receive in terms of police protection? Is there a concern there?’ and so on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they turned round and said exactly the same as what they do with Harry, in so far as that would a case by case basis.”
Prince Harry had his taxpayer funded security removed when he stepped away from royal life and moved to the US(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
However, he did point out that by association alone, Andrew could benefit from the protection afforded to his family members at events. At royal functions and public appearances, any other attending memebrs of the royal family would be afforded protection, and, he explains “through a default setting then, if Andrew was to appear at the same time, he in effect would receive a certain level of protection as well.”
He added: “Andrew will still receive, I think, an oversight in terms of his protection because the repercussions involved if he, for example, was attacked walking down the street and it was fatal, the questions would still be asked – ‘what is going on here? Is there not a duty of care to any members of the Royal Family, eighth in line, brother of the King for goodness sake, why aren’t we doing anything about it?’ And, of course, the last thing the Royal Family wants is another inquiry into the goings on and who gets what.”
