Prince Andrew is one of the most controversial members of the British royal family, while
Prince William is one of the most well-liked. They also reportedly don't like each other,
which might have something to do with the time Andrew allegedly made moves to steal the throne.
Much has been made about the royal line of succession — that is, the order in which
members of the royal family can become king or queen. As Queen Elizabeth's oldest child,
Prince Charles takes the first spot in the line of succession. The queen's next oldest child,
Princess Anne, was initially second in line, but that status was wiped out once the queen's
third child, Prince Andrew, arrived. Succession laws at the time stated that sons of a reigning
monarch had precedence over daughters, although this rule was later changed.
Up until the moment Prince William was born in June 1982, Andrew was second in line to the
throne. It's hard to imagine Andrew ever ascending to the crown at this point, considering he is now
outranked by William, and William's children in order of birth, as well as Prince Harry and
his children in order of birth. Still, there was likely once a time in which Andrew imagined that
he could one day be king. These days, there's little chance of Andrew ever coming close.
Long before the legal trial he's currently embroiled in, Prince Andrew has always
made headlines for controversial reasons. In 1997, for example,
Andrew reportedly proposed that he become Prince William's regent should the young boy need one.
While the story has never been completely confirmed, in the weeks after Princess Diana's
death, the royal family was reportedly concerned about the massive negative blowback they would
receive as a result. This concern was especially centered around Prince Charles, whom the public
had begun to distrust following revelations of his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
It was speculated that Charles might opt to not become king upon his mother's death,
instead choosing to pass the crown directly to his then-teen son William. As such,
many wondered who would rule in the event that William was still a minor at the time of
his grandmother's passing. As royal author Nigel Cawthorne told the Daily Beast, Queen Elizabeth's
third child might have spied an opening for himself during this time. Cawthorne alleged:
"Andrew tried to push Charles out of the way during the Diana scandal.
As Charles' popularity plummeted, Andrew lobbied the palace to install him as a regent for William.
That has created friction between them which persists to this day."
Many royal commentators believe Prince William has never been particularly
fond of his uncle Andrew. As a source told The Sunday Times in November 2019,
William has reportedly spoken out against Prince Andrew within the royal family in the years since
his uncle has been hit with allegations of sexual assault and abuse. The publication
insists that William played a crucial role in the recent decision to remove Andrew from senior
royal life. While speaking to the paper, the unnamed source was blunt, explaining:
"William is becoming more and more involved in decisions about
the institution and he's not a huge fan of his uncle Andrew."
In January 2022, Us Weekly reported that the queen is said to be relying on William's decision-making
skills once more. Royal watcher Kristin Contino told the publication that William was again
central to conversations about removing Andrew's royal titles and patronages, saying:
"William, in fact, was very involved in this decision, and it's been said
that he met with the queen in person ahead of their announcement that came out last week."
Prince William's reported ill will toward his disgraced uncle doesn't stop there, however.
As a trial looms in Prince Andrew's future, William is allegedly telling anyone who will
hear him that he believes Andrew is a danger to the monarchy as a whole. An alleged friend
of the future king told The Times that William is "triggered" by any family member he believes
doesn't have the best interests of the monarchy as a whole at heart. The friend explained:
"Any suggestion that there isn't gratitude for the institution,
anything that could lead anyone in the public to think that senior members of
the royal family aren't grateful for their position, [William thinks] is really dangerous."
People magazine has also reported extensively on how William feels about Andrew these days,
noting that he is united with his father, Prince Charles,
in the belief that there is absolutely no room for Andrew in the royal family.
As anyone who has followed the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle debacle has recently learned,
any time someone in the royal family exits,
their duties and patronages must be doled out to those who remain. As one of the queen's children,
Prince Andrew was once responsible for a wide variety of these duties.
In December 2019, many began speculating that,
in light of Andrew's own decision to step back from senior royal status,
some of his duties would fall on the shoulders of William himself. For example, William was ushered
off on a trip to Oman only a week after Andrew's announcement, where they met with representatives
and youth from aid organization Outward Bound. As Russell Myers shared on a podcast that week:
"I thought this was quite interesting, because Prince Andrew was the patron up until last week."
It is currently believed that things are so dismal between Prince Andrew and Prince William that
the latter now refuses to even pretend that he supports his uncle — at least while in the public
eye. In January 2022, William avoided a question about Andrew's ongoing legal situation. William
was leaving a museum when he was greeted by a reporter who asked whether Andrew has his support.
After initially claiming he couldn't hear the question, William was quick to completely rebuff
the reporter as he tried asking again. The question came on the heels of the palace's
decision to remove Andrew's titles completely, which has been described by a palace source as
"a ruthless and swift decision," and one that was likely recommended by both Charles and William.
While only time will tell if Prince Andrew's relationship with Prince William will ever
improve, it's abundantly clear that the two aren't
likely to spend any quality time together anytime soon.
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