Queen Elizabeth has not made any formal pronouncements regarding her son, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who is at the center of a controversy due to his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some quarters express, however, that the Queen has been weak in handling her son's major scandal.
According to royal expert Marlene Koenig, Queen Elizabeth seems like she's torn as a sovereign and a mother. Koenig said that as a mom, the royal is likely feeling sad over Prince Andrew, but then her feelings are reflecting poorly on her position as the sovereign and the head of the royal family.
The expert also cited that Queen Elizabeth lacks a good adviser around her since her most reliable Private Secretary, Christopher Geidt, retired in 2017. Geidt was one of the Queen's stronger allies who always gave good advice on how to handle sensitive situations like Prince Andrew's controversy.
Around the same time Geidt retired, Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, also retired from public office. Since 2017, he has been staying in Norfolk, and he's hardly involved in the issues and decisions at Buckingham Palace.
Amid reports of her "weakness," sources said that Prince Charles is being primed to take over as the King of England in 18 months, when the Queen is 95. This speculation even grew louder as the Prince of Wales traveled to his father's home as soon as he arrived from his 12-day royal tour last Tuesday with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Royal correspondent Russell Myers revealed that there'd been a "significant changing of the guard" at Buckingham Palace as two senior royals are set to take over for Queen Elizabeth. Other sources also said that Prince Charles has stepped up as the Shadow King or Prince Regent in preparation for his ascension to the throne in 18 months.
If Queen Elizabeth does retire from public office, she will be regarded as the Queen Regent, while Prince Charles is King. She will no longer have to manage the day-to-day operations of the royal family as it's now the responsibility of the new monarch, her son, the heir to the throne.
Since 2016, Queen Elizabeth has been scaling down on her royal engagements and passing the responsibilities to Prince Charles, Prince William, and even Prince Harry. But these recent controversies in the royal family had Prince Charles recognizing that a monarch needs to make a strong and cohesive decision.
