Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, along with their wives, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, were part of the royal family's "Fab Four" long before the reference was given to the Cambridges, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the Sussexes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl recalled that Charles and Andrew enjoyed a really close relationship and bonded so well together when they were both newly-married in the 1980s. Nicholl commented after watching The Crown season 4, which took place in that decade. The royal commentator said that The Crown got it all wrong because Charles and Andrew were not jealous of each other in their young adult life.
The Crown season 4 depicted the royal brothers' sibling rivalry. One scene had Andrew telling their mother, the Queen, that he would prefer their youngest, Edward, as his best man so that Charles would know the feeling of being "sidelined." Another had Charles referring to Andrew as the "fringe," implying that he's not an important part of the Firm.
However, Nicholl said that Charles and Andrew's rift developed in the "later stage of their life." But years before that, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew were going on holidays together with Diana and Fergie. Their children, William, Harry, Beatrice, and Eugenie, are also quite close to each other.
Nicholl's observation comes amid speculations that Prince Andrew's resignation from his royal roles in November 2019 had the support of Prince Charles. According to royal author Nigel Cawthorne, the Prince of Wales wanted his brother sacked from the Firm not only for his links to Jeffrey Epstein's scandals but because he was paranoid over the Duke of York's alleged plans to stage a Palace coup.
In the 1990s, there were speculations that Andrew plotted to replace Charles amid his marital troubles with Princess Diana and his dwindling popularity due to his affair with Camilla. Apparently, Andrew planned on becoming the Regent should the Queen abdicate, and Prince William was not old enough to assume the throne.
Sources at the Palace, however, said that Charles and Andrew were never close. The Prince of Wales is 10 years older than Andrew.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew's French friend, Jean-Luc Brunel, was arrested in Paris for sex trafficking and raping female minors. According to Daily Mail, Brunel's arrest is tied to Epstein's case. He apparently used his connections in the fashion world to provide Epstein and his friends the women.
The Paris police have interviewed Brunel about his relationships with Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Prince Andrew. Models have apparently provided evidence against Brunel, but his lawyer, Corinne Dreyfus-Schmidt, said that he is not guilty of the accusations against him.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew is still not talking to the U.S. authorities about what he knows of Epstein's activities. He also hasn't answered the accusations of Virginia Giuffre in court, apart from telling BBC that he does not recall ever meeting his accuser.
