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Andrew’s no-good, very bad week, part I
Grim reading in Sunday’s newspapers for Prince Andrew this weekend.
Exhibit one: the Mail on Sunday, which has a long story based on the testimony of an anonymous, Eastern European model who says three young women were told to “dress up beautifully” before being sent to meet Andrew at Jeffrey Epstein’s cavernous New York home.
The model, who says she was a guest at the financier’s Upper East Side townhouse at the same time as Andrew in 2010, says Andrew treated Epstein’s house “like it was his” and stayed in an opulent bedroom that was renamed “Room Britannica” in Andrew’s honor. She also says that Andrew may have had his feet massaged by a woman while watching the Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech—about his grandfather, George VI.
The model said, “Whenever Epstein watched a movie, he requested girls to give him and his guests a foot massage. I am pretty certain Andrew was given the same treatment. It is unlikely they watched the movie alone and without a massage.”
The model said Andrew “was incredibly useful” to Epstein as a “promotional tool.” After all, Epstein “had just left jail, and to show a guest of such a level was perfect for his social capital. He was telling everyone that the prince was in the city.”
The source has named three women, all in their early 20s, who she says were specifically invited to meet Andrew. The Mail says it has seen evidence that at least two of the women visited the mansion during his stay at Epstein’s home in December 2010.
“Before they came, they were asked to get dressed beautifully, and as a reward they were promised a bright career future, powerful connections and money,” the source said.
One of the three women named by the insider was Latvian-born model Lana Zakocela, who confirmed to the Mail on Sunday that she was told to go to Epstein’s mansion by her agent Jean-Luc Brunel but said she did not remember meeting Prince Andrew or whether he was there.
Andrew’s camp told the Mail on Sunday: “This has all the hallmarks of a campaign that’s been waged against the Duke for more than a decade. There’s never any allegation of criminality, just insinuation he’s somehow done something ‘wrong.’ In short, it is yet another attempt to traduce the Duke. To deliberately conflate serious cases of wrongdoing by Epstein with whether or not the Duke enjoyed a foot massage a decade ago is both misleading and counterproductive to justice.”
Queen to stay at Windsor Castle “indefinitely”
The queen is to withdraw from public life for months as she shelters from the coronavirus in what is expected to be her longest absence from official duties in her 68-year reign.
The monarch, 94, has been isolating at Windsor Castle since March 19 with the Duke of Edinburgh and will remain there “indefinitely,” The Sunday Times reports. Buckingham Palace will be closed to the public this summer, for the first time in 27 years. Events such as Trooping the Color, garden parties, and the Order of the Garter service have already been cancelled.
The queen’s lack of public visibility played a part in her two special televised addresses to the nation during the lockdown, sources said.
A royal source said: “Nothing is going into Her Majesty’s diary at the moment.”
Andrew’s no-good, very bad week, part II
On Friday, it was revealed that the luxury ski lodge Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson bought in 2014 is now up for sale after they failed to make a final payment of $8.2 million on it, with sources saying Andrew and Fergie’s income-generating powers have been decimated by the Epstein scandal and Andrew’s expulsion from public life.
On Saturday, The Times revealed that Sarah sent a series of Whatsapp messages promising the seller that the final installment, due by New Year’s Day, would be paid, but when the money did not arrive the vendor started legal action in the Swiss debt courts.
The vendor's lawyer told The Times that it was highly unusual in Switzerland for purchasers to pay in installments, and added that he had asked his client why she had accepted such a deal. “She said it was because it was Prince Andrew and she had no reason to doubt that he would pay,” he said.
Andrew sources told The Times that a number of Fergie’s commercial ventures were cancelled in the fallout from Andrew's disastrous BBC interview.
“As a result it was clear they would struggle to meet their financial obligations. The decision was made that the chalet was going to be sold to clear their debts and the situation would be resolved to everybody’s satisfaction.
The source added: “The vendor believes that the Yorks have the money and they are being obdurate, because the duke is a son of the queen. She wrongly believes they have it and they are not prepared to hand it over. That is not the case, they will have to sell the property to get the money. They are trying to do the right thing. A worldwide pandemic has meant they have not been able to sell it as quickly as they want.”
Harry: “Life has dramatically changed for all of us”
In an Instagram message directed to the “Invictus Games family,” Prince Harry noted that “life has dramatically changed for all of us,” since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, he said planning was underway for the games next year, after their postponement this year because of the pandemic. New dates will be announced “very soon,” Harry said, adding he hopes that Invictus participants will “support each other in this challenging time.”
Andrew’s no-good, very bad week part III
One final bit of bad news in The Sunday Times for the queen’s rumored favorite son: the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust (PACT) is being wound up and investigated by the Charity Commission, after the regulator “raised a concern” about the payment of £355,297 over a five-year period to the duke’s former private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, who is a former trustee.
A Charity Commission spokesman told The Sunday Times: “We continue to engage with the trustees of PACT about a number of regulatory issues and will report further in due course.”
A royal source told The Sunday Times: “There’s no way back for Andrew, he’s a busted flush. Nobody in royal circles or the public seems to be mourning his absence from public life. The queen is a pragmatist, she’ll be fully aware that’s how people feel.”
Harry and Meghan want to sign ex-Becks aide
Harry and Meghan are reportedly trying to sign up adviser Rebecca Mostow, to look after their “day to day life” in Los Angeles.
Mostow, who worked with David Beckham when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007, and also worked with Prince and Seal—reportedly knows the Hollywood landscape extremely well.
An alleged “insider” told The Sun on Sunday: “Rebecca is extremely discreet, diligent and professional and has been around high-end celebrities for decades.
“She’s exactly what Harry and Meghan were looking for and came highly recommended. Rebecca has her work cut out. But then, working with Prince can’t have been a walk in the park.”
Speaking to the nation
Kate Middleton continues to increase her public profile, discussing her photography project, Hold Still, on British daytime TV show, This Morning. The project encourages Britons to photograph their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Later in the week, Kate and William spoke to veterans (virtually) at the Royal British Legion’s Mais House Care Home on VE Day, with various experiences of the war, including working as a coder (Kate’s grandmother worked at Bletchley Park) and experiencing life in London during the height of the bombing.
Kate revealed that Prince George and Princess Charlotte have been learning the lyrics to “We'll Meet Again” as part of a school project—the famous Dame Vera Lynn song that became part of a national British singalong on Friday night.
This week in royal history
The coronation of George VI took place on May 12, 1937. He would reign until his death in 1952, after which his daughter—the present queen—assumed the throne. He became king after his older brother Edward abdicated as a result of his scandalous relationship with American divorcée Wallis Simpson.
The Oscar-winning movie The King’s Speech, best enjoyed with a foot rub apparently, is based on George VI’s determination to beat the stammer he felt would impede him as an effective royal speechmaker.
Unanswered questions
As her profile grows, what next for Kate Middleton? More daytime TV sit-down talks? As the British government is accused of confusing public health messaging, instructing citizens to “stay alert,” what will the next steps in the royal family's coronavirus response be?
