Reading the latest revelations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, it is safe to assume that Buckingham Palace will be relieved he is no longer a prince.
When new claims emerged this year about the former Duke of York’s relationship with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, royal commentators warned they were “just the tip of the iceberg” with further stories likely to follow.
A source close to the King told The Times that Charles was clear that “all options were open” when it came to distancing the institution from the scandal, including removing Andrew’s titles.
Or rather, the firm was more important than one family member.
On October 17, a personal statement came from Andrew after discussions with his brother, the monarch.
In it, Andrew said that he would no longer be known as a Knight of the Garter and would cease to be known as the Duke of York.
But after the torrent of allegations over his friendship with Epstein and the threat of more revelations to come, would it be enough?
Mountbatten-Windsor’s former wife Sarah Ferguson in a picture released from the Epstein files
Behind the scenes, friends of the King had realised that a more decisive approach was needed.
Andrew’s case was not helped by the fact that he had repeatedly refused the King’s previous requests to leave Royal Lodge, his palatial home in Windsor Great Park.
Then, The Times broke the story that he had paid only a “peppercorn rent” on the property for the previous two decades.
With pressure mounting, not only on Andrew but the entire institution, Charles flew to the Vatican for a state visit with the new Pope amid a backdrop of negative headlines.
Courtiers, meanwhile, were infuriated by Andrew’s previous statement and his refusal to acknowledge the plight of Epstein’s victims.
To add to Andrew’s woes, the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre was published, in which she claimed that Andrew felt that having sex with her was his “birthright”.
While Andrew has always denied the claims, Charles was by now seeking legal advice on how to deliver the final blow of stripping him of his birthright as a prince.
At the end of October, the King took decisive action, stripping Andrew of his prince title and effectively ordering him to leave his grace-and-favour home, in a move which has proved well-judged.
In the months since, further details of his association with Epstein have emerged in documents released by the US Department of Justice.
On Tuesday, emails revealed that the convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell sought to procure “intelligent, pretty and fun” women “from good families” for a friend she referred to as “Andrew”.
The problem is not going away.
The King’s decision to remove Andrew’s prince title and residence in Royal Lodge was said at the time to have been prompted by his brother’s serious lapses in judgment. While Andrew has always denied the claims of wrongdoing, his longstanding association with Epstein, which we now know lasted longer than he had at first claimed, was the “tipping point” for Charles.
The decision is thought to have been delayed by legal and constitutional complexities, but was announced at the time as having the support of the wider royal family, including the Prince of Wales.
A royal source said at the time: “His Majesty was determined to do the right thing, not the rushed thing.”
The King initiated the process and it is understood that Andrew did not object. Once announced, the decision was said to have the “full support of government” with palace courtiers having communicated the decision to the prime minister’s office and Cabinet Office.
Sir Keir Starmer issued a statement the following day supporting the decision and writing: “Our hearts go out to the family of Virginia Giuffre and all the victims who suffered from Jeffrey Epstein’s despicable crimes.”
• Messages show Jeffrey Epstein’s depravity: ‘I have a female for him’
Even this week, yet more details of Andrew’s association with Epstein and Maxwell emerged with the US files, including a photo of Andrew lying across the laps of unidentified women taken at Sandringham.
With further invitations to Balmoral and Ascot, Epstein was invited into the bosom of the royal family.
Now, Charles has finally cut ties with Andrew by finishing a job that the late Queen would not — or could not — bring herself to do.
It may well be one of the best decisions of his reign.
And the headlines continued with the news that Andrew had lost his gun licence.
It is easy to forget that just three months ago Andrew held a dukedom, had the title of Prince and could even have been planning a shooting expedition with his family over the Christmas period. Now he cuts a lonely figure.
On Christmas Day, Andrew might have been sitting down to dinner with his wider family at Sandringham for their annual get-together. It seems vanishingly unlikely that he will ever be seen in public with them in any meaningful capacity again.