EXCLUSIVE: 'I brought down Prince Andrew - but we haven't seen anything yet'
There could still be much more to emerge about Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's long-term friendships with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a royal author has exclusively told the Mirror
An author who penned an explosive biography about Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, has told the Mirror that there could be "a lot more to come" about the former husband and wife's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a shock statement, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles has begun the official legal process to strip his disgraced younger brother of all his royal titles - including that of Prince, which means from now on the only name he will be able to go by is Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The strongly worded statement said that "these censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact he continues to deny the allegations against him" and reaffirmed the King and Queen Camilla's support for "the victims and survivors of any and all abuse".
Along with stripping his titles, Andrew has been convinced to leave Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle, that had become a major point of contention amid serious public outcry over the allegations made against the King's brother. It's now been claimed he will live a sad new life at Sandringham, 'unable to even cook for himself'.
Andrew was accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17, he vehemently denies these allegations.
The outcry was so great that the monarch was recently heckled over his younger brother when in public - but Andrew had to agree to leave his long-term home of his own accord due to his "iron-cast" lease on the property.
It is understood that he is set to move to a home on the Sandringham Estate - which the King owns privately - in a few months time, however, Sarah Ferguson will not be joining him in his new home, despite the fact they have long shared Royal Lodge, remaining close after their divorce in the mid-1990s.
However, Andrew's biographer has issued a warning that the former Prince and his ex-wife are by no means "out of the woods" just yet.
"There is a lot more to come," Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said.
"We’ve got the Epstein files, even redacted and destroyed, there will be stuff there, we’ve got court cases coming up, we’ve got the likelihood of more victims coming forward, emboldened by what’s happened. So I don’t think Andrew and Sarah are out of the woods at all."
The expert added that he believed there should be "pressure put on him to help the authorities in the States, particularly the victims' lawyer, because he is a material witness to what went on.
"I think that he should make himself available to the law enforcement agencies here and in the States, for the same reason, and I think there is a little way to go.
"He needs to explain, as does Sarah Ferguson, because she’s kind of been forgotten about, but she also was heavily involved in Epstein, and I think we do need a statement from her [about] exactly what her connections were with him."
Lownie continued that she should also "offer to help the authorities and the victims’ lawyers."
The author also claimed that there is a "strong likelihood," in his opinion, of Andrew, perhaps, facing prosecution. "There is a strong likelihood, if the authorities investigate properly, they fudged it in the past, but there are good grounds for an investigation and possibly for charges to be brought."
Lownie said the King had finally taken long overdue, "decisive action" against his brother, and that the monarch had been "ruthless" in "lancing the boil" of Andrew's controversy from the Royal Family.
"I think they’ve taken decisive action at last, I mean this should have been the statement we had two weeks ago,' Lownie said.
"It’s a situation they should have dealt with years ago, but it’s welcomed that it's at least happening now. I think they are distancing themselves from Andrew quite rightly. They don’t want further reputational damage to the monarchy from being linked to him.
"I don’t think it’s quite the end of the story, but I think it’s what needed to be done. Particularly, the comments about the victims, I welcome it.
"I think it shows the King has acted ruthlessly - there was a lot of criticism for appearing to be weak. I think it’s a very neat solution going to Sandringham, I understand that actually Andrew will have to be paid quite a lot of money to basically get out of the lease, this now raises all sorts of questions about what happens to Royal Lodge in the future, but I think in terms of addressing two of the concerns, about Andrew, the titles and the property, it’s done that."
Lownie also noted that Prince William - who has been widely reported to want to deal with his disgraced uncle with a firm hand for a long time - likely acted as an important support for the King in managing the crisis.
" I think probably from what I know of him and I know of his father, he would have played quite an active role in basically stiffening Charles’s sort of resolve," explained Lownie.
"But I think Charles has come to the conclusion that, particularly after he was heckled and just the continuing press coverage, which was a distraction from all the other things he wanted to do, like pray at the Vatican. I think he’s realised just how serious this is."