Despite his scandals and controversy, Prince Andrew continues to receive royal privileges and has kept his royal title, as His Royal Highness the Duke of York, unlike Prince Harry and Meghan. Queen Elizabeth has not yet stripped her second son of his status because of one likely reason.
According to royal commentator Ann Gripper in the Pod Save the Queen podcast, Prince Andrew may continue to enjoy his royal status because Queen Elizabeth likely thinks her son won't be able to cope on his own. Gripper said that while Prince Harry and Meghan have "pulling power and credibility" that enable themselves to find work outside of the royal life, Prince Andrew's public profile isn't as great as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Gripper went on to assess that Prince Andrew is a "toxic prospect" for anyone thinking about engaging and leveraging. his public persona. Unless the Duke of York can clear his name in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, he will need to rely on his mother to support his life.
Prince Harry and Meghan were cut off from the royal family's coffers but could likely stand to earn $1 million for their speech engagements. The couple recently signed with the Harry Walker Agency, the same company that handles the speaking engagements of the Obamas and the Clintons.
Meanwhile, a royal biographer believes that Prince Andrew will not be able to "hold his head up high" in public again because of his links to a prostitution and sexual trafficking scandal. Nigel Cawthorne, who wrote Prince Andrew, Epstein and the Palace, said that the Duke of York cannot hide behind the walls of the Buckingham Palace forever but he seems to have little choices.
If Prince Andrew chooses not to discuss with the FBI about what he knows in the Epstein case, then this cloud of guilt will remain hanging over him and the public will remain hateful of him. If he does gets on a plane and goes to the U.S. to talk to the prosecutors to clear his name, he will likely be grilled by the investigators.
Prince Andrew's legal team are apparently being careful about letting the royal speak because he may incriminate himself and be treated as a suspect rather than the witness. When Prince Andrew was allowed to do an interview with the BBC, he angered the public even more so his lawyers don't want another episode like that.
