The Prince of Wales reportedly advised the Queen that she must effectively sack Prince Andrew to safeguard the long-term future of the monarchy, according to MSN.
Prince Charles moved quickly to end his brother’s career in public life after the damaging interview Prince Andrew did with BBC’s Newsnight, where he was questioned over his “ill-judged” friendship with sex offender billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew also showed no remorse during the interview, although this has quickly been rectified in the statement where Prince Andrew announced he was stepping down from his royal duties for the “foreseeable future”.
“This is not about personalities, this is about protecting the institution of the monarchy itself,” a senior figure said.
There could be only one conclusion… The Duke of York had to withdraw from the fray and from public life.
“It is very sad. Obviously, both the Queen and the prince love Andrew … but the health of the monarchy is too important to risk.”
The fallout of Prince Andrew stepping back from royal duties means that he is facing being stripped of the salary he receives from the Queen, which comes to a shocking £249,000 ($AUD 473,347) a year.
A lawyer who represents some of Epstein’s alleged victims has threatened to subpoena Prince Andrew to force him to give evidence under oath.
Lisa Bloom, who is the lawyer representing five of Epstein’s alleged victims, said that the subpoena was being considered.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “We believe nobody is above the law and everybody should have to answer questions if they have relevant information — and he clearly does have relevant information.
“Documents should be turned over — emails, texts, calendars, phone logs, travel logs, so we can get to the bottom of this.”
