William wanted Andrew BANISHED and rowed with Charles over 'stain on Royal Family'

The interview was a disaster, not only for Andrew, whose reputation was in tatters, but for the monarchy at large. Suddenly the palace was engaged in a full-scale fire fight, with deepening questions over its relevance in a modern world, even its survival.

In the aftermath, William spoke to his father to implore him and the Queen to take immediate action, fearing not only the public backlash but for his own future.

A source said: “Once you understand the fact that everything that happens in the here and now, affects everything in the future, William’s future, it is very easy to put yourself in his shoes. He never much liked his uncle and wanted him out of the picture immediately before the rot further set in.

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“William’s view was that he [Andrew] got himself into the whole mess, so he should be left to his own devices to sort it out away from the family.”

William rowed with Charles over banishing Andrew at Sandringham Christmas, leading Charles to "put him in his place"

In a clear sign of his wish for further harmony in his family, Charles invited his former sister-in-law, Sarah, Duchess of York, to join the royal family and walk alongside her ex-husband Prince Andrew to church at Sandringham.

It would be the first time she had participated in this tradition in 32 years. The King’s decision to bring his brother back into the family fold was an issue William fundamentally disagreed with, to such a degree that he challenged Charles directly.

A source with knowledge of the conversation said that William was “very much put in his place”, and that while he did not agree with the view that Andrew’s exile should be limited, he did not provoke his father further. William’s negative view of his uncle Andrew had predated the Duke of York’s fall from grace. For years the Prince of Wales had questioned what benefit his uncle was to the wider operation. “Long before he was embroiled in the scandal [involving Virginia Giuffre], he’d always thought his uncle was a bit of an ignoramus”, a palace source revealed.

“He would question ‘what does he actually do?’.

"But it was more than that. He’d seen how Andrew behaved in front of staff, ordering people about, the aggressive or dismissive manner, they’d never seen eye to eye.

“William has a relationship with his cousins [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie] … so he takes no umbrage with them, but there’s no love lost for Andrew or Sarah.

“In an alternate dimension Andrew probably thought there would be a way back into public life if the scandal or the headlines died down, but it would have always had to be while his brother was King. William didn’t think either of them [Andrew or Sarah] should be anywhere near the family, publicly or otherwise, but he was overruled by his father.”

William said Andrew's presence "was a stain on all the family"

William and Catherine joined the family at Sandringham alongside the King and Queen. Here, for the first time, in an arrangement familiar to many blended families across the country, Camilla’s children and grandchildren were present for the extended festivities.

The harmonious scenes were to last only slightly longer than the Christmas leftovers. As soon as the new year had begun, Andrew was once again in the spotlight, facing a raft of lurid allegations. His fate was sealed following the release of court documents related to a New York defamation case brought in 2015 by Andrew’s accuser Virginia Giuffre, against Ghislaine Maxwell, the duke’s former friend who procured underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse. Details in the legal papers suggested the Duke of York had indulged in “daily massages” during frequent visits to the late paedophile’s Florida mansion, had committed ‘acts of sexual abuse’ and took part in an “underage orgy”.

William again implored the King to act: to strip Andrew of his titles and banish him from the family for good in order to protect the reputation of the institution.

While Andrew had always vehemently denied the allegations, both publicly and privately to his family, one palace source close to William said: “The Prince of Wales was adamant the whole episode would never go away and, despite how others may have felt, there was absolutely no upside in Andrew being protected. His view was crystal clear, Andrew shouldn’t be anywhere near the family under any circumstances, not by association, not at family functions, anywhere. Every single time there was a new revelation, which no one knew when it was coming or what the next one would be, it was a stain on all of the family.”

William and Catherine always united in banishing Andrew

William and Catherine’s personal view has been that their best option is to keep their distance from the source of the problem. They knew that the disturbing claims of sexual abuse that have pursued Andrew for more than a decade, allegations he has always vehemently denied, had permanently damaged him in the public’s eyes.

And his now famous BBC Newsnight interview, where he failed to apologise for his connection to Epstein, or acknowledge the victims of sexual abuse, was, for William and Catherine, terminal for their relationship with him.

The late Queen sought to protect her son from complete banishment, clinging to the hope that he would one day be exonerated. Similarly, while acknowledging that his brother could never return to public duties, Charles attempted to honour his mother’s wishes and for a long time stopped short of pushing for Andrew’s complete banishment. By contrast, William made it clear that once he became king there would be no such mercy.

Since 2019 the ever more depressing drip of information relating to Andrew and Epstein has presented a serious challenge to the institution. Buckingham Palace has not acted for the prince since he stepped down from public duties, suggesting he was a private individual, and in doing so sought to further distance itself from him. But with every Balmoral meet-up or Christmas walkabout that came around, questions were raised as to how close to the King, or William, Andrew actually was. Did the royal family think this would all blow over if they kept quiet, or kept him close? William and Catherine have never seen it that way.