No-Longer-Prince Andrew

[Karen-W]

I've never seen anything implying that Anne was raised with an expectation that she wouldn't be a working royal. The main difference for Anne is that she & her first spouse declined a title for him & that left her children as plain Master & Miss growing up, which was fine because they were quite aware that Peter & Zara would never be working royals.

By the time Edward was old enough, he certainly wasn't expected to be a working royal which meant, by extension, nor would his spouse or children. Things turned out slightly different for Edward & Sophie but Louise & James have been raised exactly the same as Peter & Zara - with no expectation they'll ever be working royals. They keep a very low profile, much like Princess Margaret's children and the Kent & Gloucester cousins.

The only one of Elizabeth's younger children who believed from his children's birth that they had a future as working royals was Andrew. And he stubbornly has clung to that idea their entire lives. Eugenie seems to have recognized that wasn't in the cards for her and adjusted her life plans accordingly. Beatrice... It's always seemed like she'd gladly drop the job she found after university to become a full-time working royal if ever asked. That hasn't happened and most certainly won't now in the wake of the Epstein scandal.

Harry definitely was raised with the expectation he would be a working royal in support of his father & older brother. His error is & has been in not recognizing that his children were destined for the Peter/Zara/Louise/James life. I don't know if he's just that damn dumb or he just didn't have the nerve to tell Meghan that it would be better/easier on their kids if they grew up without titles or as Lord/Lady at most rather than Prince/Princess; but they've made a big effing deal out of their kids' titles and both of them have heavily implied in the last year or so that they want to leave the door open to their children becoming working royals - which is an absolutely bonkers notion - and not just because of the fact that they currently live in California - but mostly because that's not something the British public wants for the grandchildren of the monarch outside the direct line.

There are other similarities between Harry & Andrew, but the titles for the kids and the expectation they'll someday, possibly, be working royals, is a major red flag, along with the obvious questions about their finances & how they're paying for their very lavish lifestyle.

And, for what it's worth, there have never been any allegations about Andrew and drug or substance abuse like the ones that have dogged Harry for years; nor has Andrew ever dressed like a Nazi or used racial slurs. There's a lot about Andrew to be disgusted about, but there's a lot about Harry to be equally disgusted about & that should give anyone pause about their true character & integrity.

 

[skategal]

Meghan has had several successful ventures. Her latest is the products under her brand that sell out within minutes of release. With all good reviews of the products.

She seems to have much more savvy than Fergie and can plan a way forward financially without much issues?

 

[Jenny]

And, for what it's worth, there have never been any allegations about Andrew and drug or substance abuse like the ones that have dogged Harry for years; nor has Andrew ever dressed like a Nazi or used racial slurs.

Agree that he doesn't appear to use drugs and is reportedly a teetotaller. However, there have been many reports over the years of his racist slurs and off colour "jokes."

Meghan has had several successful ventures. Her latest is the products under her brand that sell out within minutes of release. With all good reviews of the products.

Is it all it seems though? Reports are mixed, as are interpretations. Sold out products could mean high demand, or could mean low stock levels that were meant to give the impression that there's high demand, and to keep fans coming back to the site hoping for more, a classic marketing technique. Reviews are also mixed - some love the products, others not so much.

And in the end, it's about net profit, numbers we'll likely never know unless she lucks out and someone buys the brand from her - which may be part of the plan/hope in the case of the wines especially. Celebrities are notorious for starting vanity booze brands only to sell them for massive profit.

 

[Karen-W]

Agree that he doesn't appear to use drugs and is reportedly a teetotaller. However, there have been many reports over the years of his racist slurs and off colour "jokes."

Andrew is of the age where I'd be shocked if he didn't make off-color jokes, especially around other men or family members (consider the sort of remarks his father used to make in public). Harry is of a different generation which was raised to know those were offensive.

I'm in no way excusing Andrew's behavior or association with Epstein, not by a long shot, but anyone who wants to believe that Harry may not have the same stink about him should probably look into the various allegations out there about Tyler Perry, who is one of Lilibet's godparents.

 

[attyfan]

All of the late Queen's kids would have been raised to be working royals ... the difference you originally raised wasn't between Anne (and Edward) vs. Andrew, but between Anne's and Edward's kids vs. Andrew and Harry. My point is that it is simply easier to raise kids to earn their own living when they will be expected to do that from day 1, as opposed to Andrew and Harry, who did not have that advantage.

 

[Karen-W]

All of the late Queen's kids would have been raised to be working royals ... the difference you originally raised wasn't between Anne (and Edward) vs. Andrew, but between Anne's and Edward's kids vs. Andrew and Harry. My point is that it is simply easier to raise kids to earn their own living when they will be expected to do that from day 1, as opposed to Andrew and Harry, who did not have that advantage.

Fair enough, though I still stand by my position that both Andrew & Harry received substantial trust funds from the Queen Mother and other family members to enable them to live very comfortable lives, if not the lavish ones they & their spouses have indulged in because neither of them seem to have been raised with any sense of where money comes from or that it may be limited in supply. For whatever reason, both Anne & Edward grew up to be much more fiscally responsible. From the outside looking in, it almost seems like Andrew & Harry suffer from main character syndrome, if that makes any sense, lol.

 

[skategal]

Agree that he doesn't appear to use drugs and is reportedly a teetotaller. However, there have been many reports over the years of his racist slurs and off colour "jokes."


Is it all it seems though? Reports are mixed, as are interpretations. Sold out products could mean high demand, or could mean low stock levels that were meant to give the impression that there's high demand, and to keep fans coming back to the site hoping for more, a classic marketing technique. Reviews are also mixed - some love the products, others not so much.

And in the end, it's about net profit, numbers we'll likely never know unless she lucks out and someone buys the brand from her - which may be part of the plan/hope in the case of the wines especially. Celebrities are notorious for starting vanity booze brands only to sell them for massive profit.

Meghan is not work-shy unlike some other members of the family she married into.

If you have products flying off the shelf and a huge demand for them release after release, you are going to do just fine. She knows what to do to support her family. And that’s a good thing considering Harry seems to be floundering a bit.

 

[Jenny]

Andrew is of the age where I'd be shocked if he didn't make off-color jokes, especially around other men or family members (consider the sort of remarks his father used to make in public). Harry is of a different generation which was raised to know those were offensive.

Very true - although at the same time, one can evolve. I'm of the same generation as Andrew, and looking back at the schoolyard taunts and jokes when I was a kid, it was awful and I admit I rarely said anything unless it was something that hit closer to home. Same thing as I got older, I still heard racist references but was no longer laughing, and more and more calling people out for it. People can change, and I would think having children can go a long way to realizing the example you're setting. Even my elderly inlaws, in their last years, would listen when we pointed out that some things they say shouldn't be said or even thought, and they we open to it, listened, and at least in public, were a lot more aware.

A quick search shows that Andrew was making racist remarks semi-publicly as recently as 2019.

 

[MacMadame]

Meghan is not work-shy unlike some other members of the family she married into.

Meghan has a strong work ethic and a strong survival instinct. She tried some paths that worked out with varying degrees of success and then she pivoted in response to be more successful.

Harry has made things. He started a charity. He had a career that he loved. Has Andrew ever made anything? Worked a real job? It seems to me that Andrew takes and takes and takes and considers it his due regardless of the consequences. Harry, OTOH, does want to leave the world better than he found it.

Harry and Andrew were not given the tools needed to be ordinary, grown-up people. Andrew doesn't seem to care about that. But Harry has been in therapy and appears to be trying and was willing to leave his old, cushy life behind for his wife's mental health. He may not have been realistic in his expectations of what that would entail, but he certainly wasn't behaving selfishly when he made that decision.

Leo Tolstoy wrote: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I see Harry and Andrew as both f'ed up. But that doesn't make them the same. They have some similarities in their upbringing in that they were both kids who grew up royal but were never going to be King but they didn't have the same childhood, the same parents, the same school experiences. In the end, they have their own problems and their own way of dealing with them. Harry may end up not breaking out of his trauma and figuring out his life, but I doubt he'll go down the same path as Andrew. He's a very different person.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Harry has made things. He started a charity. He had a career that he loved. Has Andrew ever made anything? Worked a real job?

Andrew had a 20 year career in the navy.

 

[MacMadame]

Andrew had a 20 year career in the navy.

Okay, he had a job. He's still a taker.