When Spain’s King Juan Carlos abdicated, he moved to the Middle East for several years. I think he still maintains a home (or a hotel suite) in Abu Dhabi, but he’s able to visit Spain. This is the kind of arrangement that’s been discussed for Prince Andrew as well – that if he was ever kicked out of Royal Lodge, he would move permanently to Abu Dhabi or Dubai or another Emirate state. Is that the endgame? Well, the Mail’s Christopher Wilson is openly advocating for it, just in the most medieval language possible. It’s 2025, can Andrew actually be sent into exile? And why is Wilson even bringing up the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?
Just when you thought Prince Andrew’s reputation could fall no further, another raft of allegations emerge that take it even further into the gutter. He has already been forced to give up his dukedom and Knight of the Garter title but now it is becoming increasingly clear that his days at the Royal Lodge at Windsor, a splendid 30-room mansion a corgi-walk from the King’s home at Windsor Castle, could well be numbered.
There is talk of him being despatched to the Castle of Mey, a 16th century pile almost 700 miles from Windsor on the very northern tip of Scotland. But I think it is very unlikely that he would agree to give up the comforts of the Royal Lodge for the most northerly inhabited castle in the country. I also find it hard to believe that Charles would offer it: he has just planted a maze there and considers it his personal property.
The truth is there’s a long and dishonourable tradition of sending disgraced royals into exile and, as Prince Andrew’s troubles mount, it’s time to banish him abroad. Perhaps the most obvious destination would be the US. But there, he and Fergie would have to share the atmosphere with Harry and Meghan and could find themselves the subject of invidious comparisons.
Harry may have disgraced himself via the indiscretions in his autobiography, Spare, but compared to Andrew, whose charge sheet is not only much longer but also a great deal more sordid, he is a leading member of polite society. Meanwhile, Meghan has stolen Fergie’s clothes as the lovable wayward princess. She’s younger, slimmer and makes for nicer pictures – plus Fergie might find her sources of income strictly limited since the death of her paymaster, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and the end of lucrative deals with the likes of Weight Watchers.
Perhaps when considering their options for moving on they should look to Andrew’s ancestors for tips. Queen Caroline, who was effectively exiled for six years after a breakdown in her marriage to King George IV, took to riding donkeys in the Middle East. That might appeal to Andrew, who conveniently has a royal palace on permanent standby in Abu Dhabi, courtesy the ruling house of Nahyan. But Fergie might find the Arab attitude towards women stifling and, while the temperature there is permanently above 80 degrees, the shopping’s not so hot.
A more likely choice would be Switzerland, Fergie’s spiritual home, where the couple once had a charming chalet in Verbier. They sold it in 2022 but only after years of legal squabbles over money. Indeed, the Mountbatten-Windsors, as we must learn to call them following the humiliating loss of Andrew’s titles, always seem to be short of cash. So they might find it difficult to stump up the many millions it takes to buy, staff and run a Swiss chalet.
The answer might be to sell the lease on their current home, the Royal Lodge, back to King Charles. He would no doubt would be delighted to give them a fair price just to see the back of them. Certainly, exile abroad is the best option for Andrew and Fergie right now. The Epstein scandal is far from over – and another disaster looms ahead.
Wilson was so eager to compare the Sussexes to the Yorks that he forgot to mention the biggest reason why Andrew will never travel to America again, much less live here: Andrew is still technically wanted for questioning over his associations to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. While it’s now Trump’s FBI and Trump’s DOJ, it’s very likely that American authorities would find it much easier to scapegoat Andrew for everything Trump has done too. But if exile happens, I agree, it will be to Abu Dhabi or Switzerland.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
