King Charles III Ends the Year With Prince Andrew 'Humiliating' the Royal Family

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King Charles III probably entered 2024 thinking that his feud with Prince Harry was going to be his biggest headline, but Prince Andrew decided to have a hold-my-beer moment instead. The Duke of York’s latest scandal, involving his friendship with a Chinese national who is allegedly a spy, really tops off a terrible year for the royal family.

The monarch should be worrying about his cancer battle, but he has to constantly monitor his younger brother’s behavior — and Charles is reportedly not pleased about the situation. “The drama and embarrassment with Andrew just never seem to end,” a source told InTouch Weekly. “He’s an absolute disaster, but no one can very well contain him. He seems to have a knack for humiliating himself and the royals in the process.” Charles is reportedly “at the end of his rope.”

There are no punishments left to dole out since Charles already removed his security detail and allowance. Andrew seems to find a slippery way out of every situation, including securing a source to fund the upkeep of Royal Lodge. The Duke of York also might have a bigger trick up his sleeve with a palace in the Middle East.

Andrew Lownie, the author of Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, told The Daily Beast that the Duke of York has secured himself a new home if he needs it. “Andrew has been given the use of a palace by the Abu Dhabi authorities. It costs them nothing. He has been spending a lot of time out there in recent years and I am told by reliable sources that from next year he may divide his time between the Middle East and the U.K. He is expected to go between the two,” he revealed.

“The whole family are up to their necks in it,” Lownie added. “The children, Beatrice and Eugenie, have been out in the Middle East and so has Fergie.” Princess Beatrice attended the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi on November 4 and gave a speech on AI — right around the time of Prince Andrew’s financial announcement about staying put at Royal Lodge. “There was a general feeling that Beatrice was an unofficial ambassador for the UK,” journalist Hadley Gamble told the Daily Mail. “Beatrice was quite literally in the inner circle at a gathering of global energy CEOs, top finance guys, and policymakers.”

The optics for Charles are terrible as anti-monarchists continue to question the relevancy of the monarchy. He’s truly at his wits’ end in dealing with his troubled brother. “People in The Firm [are] just wringing their hands, wondering how much more leniency or tolerance that they can possibly show Andrew before they just fling him out on his ear,” the InTouch Weekly source concluded. “The issue is that he’s clearly not going anywhere, so he’s like this thousand-pound elephant in the room.”

King Charles needs to step up and make a conclusive decision on Prince Andrew that sticks because it’s not helping the royal family’s reputation.

Before you go, click to see all the biggest royal scandals in the past 50 years.