A sex scandal, a mistress's rise to power, and a grandson left out of the loop — Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth is dead, but there are still unanswered questions.
Will the royals continue to protect Prince Andrew?
And why didn't they wait on Prince Harry to arrive before they announced the queen's death?
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning British monarch in British history has died.
Buckingham Palace released a statement announcing that the monarch died peacefully on September
8 at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland.
News of the queen's death came hours after Buckingham Palace shared a statement, revealing
that due to concerns about her deteriorating health, she was placed under medical supervision.
In the wake of the queen's death, tributes have continued to pour in from across the
United Kingdom and the world at large.
"Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built."
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have also paid their tributes to the late monarch,
whom they described as, quote, "a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride
for generations of Britons."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau further shared his condolences with the royal family
while acknowledging the queen's support for the Canadian government through the years.
"She served us all with strength and wisdom."
Similarly, royal fans are paying their last respects to Queen Elizabeth while seeking
answers to some burning questions.
Following the announcement of the queen's deteriorating health status, BBC reported
that senior members of the royal family, including her four children, the now King Charles, Prince
Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward, made their way to Balmoral to join the Queen
at home.
According to The Daily Beast, only Charles and Anne were at Her Majesty's side when she
passed away.
The outlet also reported the arrival of the queen's grandson, Prince William, at the Scottish
estate while his brother Prince Harry was said to be on his way.
Harry, however, had yet to join his family when the queen's death was announced, begging
royal fans to question why the palace did not hold off the announcement until his arrival.
One fan Tweeted,
"But can we talk about how shady it is that the royals didn't wait until Prince Harry
arrived to announce that she was dead?"
That's not the only question that's come up since Queen Elizabeth's death.
Prince Andrew, popularly dubbed Queen Elizabeth's favorite son, has been caught in one too many
scandals over the past years.
One is his eye-raising past friendship with infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who
died in August 2019.
That same year, Andrew faced sexual assault charges after Virginia Giuffre filed suit
against the prince claiming he had relations with her when she was only 17 . Andrew denied
the allegations.
"I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady."
Despite his denials, in January 2022, when a U.S. judge ruled that a civil case about
the sexual abuse allegations could proceed, Andrew was stripped of all his royal patronages
and military titles.
Despite this seeming proverbial move from the monarchy, royal fans have always theorized
that for the longest time, the queen protected Andrew from public scrutiny.
An instance to back up this speculation would be in August 2021 when the Daily Beast reported
that Queen Elizabeth's legal team warned the British media to stay away from Andrew and
her Balmoral Estate where he was vacationing at the time.
Therefore, with the queen's death comes the question of whether or not the royal family
would continue to protect Prince Andrew.
One Twitter user wrote,
"Do I have to remind people that the royal family happily used millions of pounds of
taxpayers money [...] to pay off Prince Andrew's victims?"
Another user quipped that Andrew's actions might have contributed to the queen's stress
over the years — and yes, even more than the Meghan and Harry situation.
Another question involves Prince Charles' wife, Camilla Parker Bowles.
With Prince Charles officially named the new King of England, Camilla Parker Bowles has
now become the country's queen consort.
This comes after years of speculation over whether Bowles would be given the regal title
or not.
Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth put all doubts to rest earlier in 2022 during the platinum
jubilee anniversary of her reign when she said,
"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and
his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that,
when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort."
Royal watchers are however not particularly pleased about Bowles's new rank in the royal
family and have since taken to Twitter to share their thoughts.
One person tweeted,
"Camila Parker Bowles is living the dream.
Imagine going from being the mistress for 20 years to being Queen Consort???"
A second user wrote that the new queen consort might just have become a role model for, quote,
"side chicks" across the globe.
All of this, of course, alluded to the messy note on which her relationship with Charles
started.
"Well, there were three of us in this marriage.
So it was a bit crowded."
But perhaps none of these questions matter, at least not immediately.
Queen Elizabeth has passed away, and Britain has a new monarch – long live the king.