Scrutable

Martin_B wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:24 pm

Stranger Mouse wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 11:20 pm I get the feeling they expect more to be coming out but I’m probably wrong

Maybe more, but I'm not sure it'll come out

Yes

Poor chap - forced to live in another lovely house but on the Sandringham estate and paid for by the King. How will he cope?

Seems a bit of a non-punishment, doesn't it? Not really being cut loose if someone else is still paying. As a result I suspect this won't be quite the end of it for the royal family.

TopBadger wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 10:16 am Poor chap - forced to live in another lovely house but on the Sandringham estate and paid for by the King. How will he cope?

Seems a bit of a non-punishment, doesn't it? Not really being cut loose if someone else is still paying. As a result I suspect this won't be quite the end of it for the royal family.

There are probably conditions attched to Chaz supporting him. After all, it's not like he can get a regular job.

I suspect the loss of titles and status will affect his ability to impress dodgy businessmen and he won't be able to puff up his ego by swanking at State occasions. No one is going to invite him to their 'private parties' in case the media outs them too.

With any luck he'll be stuck indoors watching Bargain Hunt for the rest of his life. I feel sorry for the Sandringham staff having to deal with him.

Tessa K wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 11:26 am There are probably conditions attached to Chaz supporting him
...
With any luck he'll be stuck indoors watching Bargain Hunt for the rest of his life. I feel sorry for the Sandringham staff having to deal with him.

Something akin to house arrest is the only way I'd see this working too.

He has not yet been removed from the line of succession but this could happen.

Is this new? I can’t keep up any more.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/andrew-pr ... 5HjdGCQ_2/

Andrew allegedly called 40 prostitutes to his hotel in Thailand

Stranger Mouse wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 2:32 pm Is this new? I can’t keep up any more.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/andrew-pr ... 5HjdGCQ_2/

Andrew allegedly called 40 prostitutes to his hotel in Thailand

I suspect a lot of stories will pop up now, some true, some just people cashing in, knowing he won't deny anything because no one will believe him.

TopBadger wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 10:16 am Poor chap - forced to live in another lovely house but on the Sandringham estate and paid for by the King. How will he cope?

Seems a bit of a non-punishment, doesn't it? Not really being cut loose if someone else is still paying. As a result I suspect this won't be quite the end of it for the royal family.

Yes.

But he does embody the morals of the institution of the monarchy.

jimbob wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 4:00 pm

TopBadger wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 10:16 am Poor chap - forced to live in another lovely house but on the Sandringham estate and paid for by the King. How will he cope?

Seems a bit of a non-punishment, doesn't it? Not really being cut loose if someone else is still paying. As a result I suspect this won't be quite the end of it for the royal family.

Yes.

But he does embody the morals of the institution of the monarchy.

The morals being 'Oh sh.t, we've been caught, let's pretend to be penitent'?

Tessa K wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 5:02 pm

jimbob wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 4:00 pm

TopBadger wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 10:16 am Poor chap - forced to live in another lovely house but on the Sandringham estate and paid for by the King. How will he cope?

Seems a bit of a non-punishment, doesn't it? Not really being cut loose if someone else is still paying. As a result I suspect this won't be quite the end of it for the royal family.

Yes.

But he does embody the morals of the institution of the monarchy.

The morals being 'Oh sh.t, we've been caught, let's pretend to be penitent'?

I was thinking more along the lines of "I'm worth far more than anyone who isn't British royalty, so I can do whatever I want"

TopBadger wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 11:51 am

Tessa K wrote: Fri Oct 31, 2025 11:26 am There are probably conditions attached to Chaz supporting him
...
With any luck he'll be stuck indoors watching Bargain Hunt for the rest of his life. I feel sorry for the Sandringham staff having to deal with him.

Something akin to house arrest is the only way I'd see this working too.

How about exile? The UK has various islands scattered round the globe. One of them would do. Or he could be made permanent Post Master of Port Lockroy and earn his keep.

Didn't the Russians call it internal exile?

He's still Vice Admiral in the RN. For now.

(No jokes about vice, we all thought it).

Tessa K wrote: Sat Nov 01, 2025 9:19 am Didn't the Russians call it internal exile?

The Soviet Union had a system of internal passports, so it could control where people went. You couldn't just choose to go to another place outside your area, temporarily or permanently, without permission. And so an internal exile could easily be enforced on dissidents and others who annoyed the authorities, often by their mere existence, if that was the chosen torment for you. A much more pleasant torment than being sent to the gulag.

If you were relatively lucky, you might be exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, then named Gorky, a reasonably pleasant city on the Volga 400km E of Moscow. In particular, Andrei Sakharov was exiled to Gorky. Many others were exiled to much remoter, less comfortable places, such as Kolima district in NE Siberia, and Sakhalin island off the east coast.

We can think of some place of exile like Foula or Tristan da Cunha. But I'm rather loath to impose him on the locals of either such place. But I think for playboy Andrew NW Norfolk will be like exile for him. Despite once apparently being willing to go to a pizza restaurant in Woking, I can't really imagine him finding much of what he would think fun in places like King's Lynn and Hunstanton.

By coincidence yesterday I finished reading And Quiet Flows the Don (Tikhiy Don) by Nobel prize-winner Mikhail Sholokhov, which is set during the period from just before WW1 to a point during the civil war just after it. It ends with the death in the civil war of some of the main characters, who have become Bolsheviks and captured by the Whites. One of them says she will die happily fighting for socialism, for a future when people will be able to travel where they choose, and there will be no poverty. Of course Sholokhov in writing that knew that in practice socialism in Russia restricted people's travel options and intensified poverty. The novel, or quartet of novellas as originally constructed, was banned for a long time during the Soviet period. But eventually they recognised him. The district around Vyoshenskaya he was born in - the same area much of the action of the novel takes place in - was renamed after him in 1984. Tatarsk, the cossack village, is fictional village, but said to be near the real places of Vyoshenskaya and Millerovo.

IvanV wrote: Sun Oct 19, 2025 12:48 pm

Tessa K wrote: Sun Oct 19, 2025 11:53 am According to the BBC:

When Prince Andrew was born in 1960, he was automatically a prince as the son of a monarch. This could only be changed if a letters patent - a legal document authorised by the monarch - was to be issued by the King.

I misremembered: it is his dukedom that cannot be removed without Act of Parliament. Which is why he was persuaded to agree not to use the title, rather than be removed from it, which would require the embarrassment of formal acts rather than quiet acquiescence.

In relation to Prince, Wikipedia says that Letters Patent removing someone from office can only be issued if the office was granted by Letters Patent in the first place. Removal can alternatively happen by default if another person is appointed to that office, in effect as replacement. But neither seems to apply here. But this is wikipedia. So who to believe?

It seems the lawyers have discovered a Royal Warrant will suffice to remove many of his titles, including Duke. I guess Charles didn't really want to be signing any public documents about this. But he has apparently now decided to do this much, perhaps now that a relatively quick and easy legal solution has been located.

Some legal solution has been found to end the lease on his house too, that a few days ago they were saying had a cast iron lease agreement that couldn't be terminated. Not clear what trick they managed for that. There's some talk of a sum of money, so maybe he is getting a refund of sorts in recognition of his advance payment in lieu of rent.

Unless he broke the terms of the lease, in which case he may get nothing. Fingers crossed.

IvanV wrote: Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:54 pmDespite once apparently being willing to go to a pizza restaurant in Woking,

I've always been a bit confused by this. He lived in Windsor (I believe) at the time and took his daughters out to Pizza Express in Woking. There are many closer and better pizza restaurants to Windsor.

Also, I've lived in both Woking and Moss Side, and the part of Woking where Pizza Express was was grimmer than anywhere I've been in Moss Side.

Martin_B wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 12:45 am

IvanV wrote: Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:54 pmDespite once apparently being willing to go to a pizza restaurant in Woking,

I've always been a bit confused by this. He lived in Windsor (I believe) at the time and took his daughters out to Pizza Express in Woking. There are many closer and better pizza restaurants to Windsor.

Also, I've lived in both Woking and Moss Side, and the part of Woking where Pizza Express was was grimmer than anywhere I've been in Moss Side.

His former "ranch-style" house (since demolished - it was bought by Kazakh billionaire Timur Kulibayev, who replaced it with some lavish monstrosity that remains unoccupied) was in Sunninghill Park.

The nearest town is actually Bracknell, not Windsor. Whilst Woking is surprisingly grim for such a wealthy place, Bracknell is just grim. Windsor would be rather nearer than Woking, but I think we can understand why he didn't go to Windsor for a pizza, if in truth he went anywhere for a pizza. In Woking, people aren't going to make much of a fuss about it. But in Windsor, he'd quickly gather a crowd of gawping tourists.

IvanV wrote: Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:54 pm But I think for playboy Andrew NW Norfolk will be like exile for him. Despite once apparently being willing to go to a pizza restaurant in Woking, I can't really imagine him finding much of what he would think fun in places like King's Lynn and Hunstanton.

Hunting. Maybe not much else.

Grumble wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 1:15 pm

IvanV wrote: Sun Nov 02, 2025 12:54 pm But I think for playboy Andrew NW Norfolk will be like exile for him. Despite once apparently being willing to go to a pizza restaurant in Woking, I can't really imagine him finding much of what he would think fun in places like King's Lynn and Hunstanton.

Hunting. Maybe not much else.

Boring the servants with anecdotes from his naval days.