Prince Andrew

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Tessa K
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Prince Andrew

Post by Tessa K » Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:06 am

Right. I don't want to get into what he did or didn't, rumour and speculation, but I am interested in the media coverage and the impact on society nationally and internationally. Is the Royal Family 'rocked' and 'devastated'? I know he's whatever in line for the throne but does anyone really care enough about him or the Royals for it to make a significant difference?

The Queen may be wishing Windsor Castle still had a few oubliettes but do the rest of us give a stuff* or am I so disinterested in the Royals that I've become detached from public opinion on them?

*about the impact on the Royals, not about whether he abused girls and concealed Epstein's crimes, that's a matter for the courts.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by greyspoke » Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:52 am

Despite his best efforts, he never managed to achieve much of a profile, other than as a bit of a pompous arse. So he will hardly be missed when he "withdraws from public life". Anne and Edward manage to keep under the media radar quite successfully whilst doing their royal stuff. I am sure if any of the charities etc. Andrew supported still think a royal patron is a good thing, one will be found. Most of us are unaware of that stuff and probably don't care whether or not a charity we might support has a royal patron or not, but I guess there are some folk who do. I do wonder where the balance of power lies there - are the charities eagerly accepting the favour of royal patronage, or are the royals having to cajole high profile causes to accept them as patrons, and the charities wearily (?warily) accepting them because they don't want to upset royalists (and not royalists are unlikely to care much).

So I can't see it having much of an effect. It isn't as if the recent past has been royal scandal-free. On the subject of Scandal, John Profumo and Christine Keeler managed to get on with their lives in private after The Profumo Affair and I think Profumo actually got stuck in to charity work (actual work, not just lending his name). That would be the route to redemption for Andrew, but I am not sure it is in his character, and he doesn't really have any skills to give.

It must be difficult for the family privately, but they are stuck with him as a family member. It wouldn't look good to ostracise him though I suppose he could be packed off to Dubai or somewhere.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by JQH » Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:55 am

Could make him Governor of the Falkland Islands.
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

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Tessa K
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Tessa K » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:05 pm

JQH wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:55 am
Could make him Governor of the Falkland Islands.
Why inflict him on the poor penguins?

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by JQH » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:10 pm

And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by dyqik » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:15 pm

JQH wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:10 pm
I think they'll be ok.
If you think the penguins would be OK, then South Georgia is available.

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Tessa K
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Tessa K » Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:19 pm

Time to revive the idea of the Remittance Man.
A remittance man was usually the black sheep of an upper or middle-class family who was sent away and paid to stay away. These men were generally of dissolute or drunken character, and may have been sent overseas after one or more disgraces at home.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by GeenDienst » Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:00 pm

I know he's whatever in line for the throne...
he must be at least seventh or eighth, after the other old one, baldy, young Hewitt and the baldy/Hewitt offsprings (without wasting any life looking it up), so he's entirely moot in that regard.

And he's not doing any public royalling for the foreseeable. So what is the point of him, then?

Robert Clive would be a good example of a remittance man, when he was sent to join the East India Company after being something of a problem at home. Maybe it doesn't always play out well, considering what a great success for them he was.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Grumble » Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:29 pm

Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:19 pm
Time to revive the idea of the Remittance Man.
A remittance man was usually the black sheep of an upper or middle-class family who was sent away and paid to stay away. These men were generally of dissolute or drunken character, and may have been sent overseas after one or more disgraces at home.
What do you mean revive? The Catholic Church has never stopped using that.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by geejaytee » Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:34 pm

Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:19 pm
Time to revive the idea of the Remittance Man.
A remittance man was usually the black sheep of an upper or middle-class family who was sent away and paid to stay away. These men were generally of dissolute or drunken character, and may have been sent overseas after one or more disgraces at home.
It was a lot easier when there was an empire - send the dissolute to some foreign part as Governor or some other official and slowly wait for them to die through drinking/eating/some other malady they're not immune to.

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Tessa K
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Tessa K » Thu Nov 21, 2019 2:50 pm

geejaytee wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:34 pm
Tessa K wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:19 pm
Time to revive the idea of the Remittance Man.
A remittance man was usually the black sheep of an upper or middle-class family who was sent away and paid to stay away. These men were generally of dissolute or drunken character, and may have been sent overseas after one or more disgraces at home.
It was a lot easier when there was an empire - send the dissolute to some foreign part as Governor or some other official and slowly wait for them to die through drinking/eating/some other malady they're not immune to.
Or send them to help run a plantation. It was much easier for people to be effectively exiled when communication was so much more primitive. A small notice in the Times to record their death and that was it. Of course, there were probably some who enjoyed it, depending on their particular dissolution.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Bird on a Fire » Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:42 pm

He's the perfect fall-guy for the Epstein erstwhile-scandal: high-profile but not actually particularly rich or powerful. All the shadowy billionaire/politician nonces must be delighted.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by mikeh » Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:54 pm

Was going to post a screenshot, but that would mean Toby Young's face staring at yours.

Click this link instead for Our Toby's Insight into this matter.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by murmur » Thu Nov 21, 2019 6:09 pm

I don't suppose it will change anyone's views.

For those of us who are anti-monarchist/republican it merely confirms the inherent corruption and decadence of the entire shitshow; for the royalist tendency, well, they've always been able to ignore convenient things about the monarchy when it suits them, then saying "Oh yes, but the Queen does a wonderful job!".

We here have been amusing ourselves by imagining a Sopranos style sit down to chastise Andrew and consider a punishment. Brenda is clearly Tony, Andrew is some combo of Ralphy and someone whose name I forget, but we haven't completely decided who is Michael (Chucky?) or Silvio. Philip is Paulie Walnuts. Don't be getting on any boats...

The idea of Chucky and Philip doing that New Jersey pine barrens episode is amusing me no end.
It's so much more attractive inside the moral kiosk

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Sciolus » Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:35 pm

greyspoke wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:52 am
Despite his best efforts, he never managed to achieve much of a profile, other than as a bit of a pompous arse. So he will hardly be missed when he "withdraws from public life".
He was one of the principal royals for a couple of decades until Charles's Diana's sprogs grew up. And he had a major role as global arms dealer UK trade envoy. Pompous arse, though, definitely.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by greyspoke » Thu Nov 21, 2019 9:14 pm

Yes, but that stuff never seemed to get him much of a public airing in terms of news items. Much less than his girlfriends/marriage/divorce did.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by JQH » Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:33 pm

mikeh wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:54 pm
Was going to post a screenshot, but that would mean Toby Young's face staring at yours.

Click this link instead for Our Toby's Insight into this matter.
Dim-witted and inarticulate even by Toby Young standards. Unless he really was a knobbing under-age girls before he married in which case perhaps someone in authority should be examining his computer.
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by dyqik » Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:36 pm

JQH wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:33 pm
mikeh wrote:
Thu Nov 21, 2019 5:54 pm
Was going to post a screenshot, but that would mean Toby Young's face staring at yours.

Click this link instead for Our Toby's Insight into this matter.
Dim-witted and inarticulate even by Toby Young standards. Unless he really was a knobbing under-age girls before he married in which case perhaps someone in authority should be examining his computer.
It does raise questions about his attempts to open "free" schools, doesn't it?

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Chris Preston » Thu Nov 21, 2019 11:49 pm

As to the Prince Andrew stepping down from public activities, I can't see why people are making such a fuss about it. Minor royals have retired to their estates all though history. It is not like there is a shortage of warm bodies within the royal family to front up and open shopping centres and day cares.

The reasons why he is stepping down, that is something people should be concerned about. This is behaviour we probably shouldn't tolerate, so why should Andrew be allowed to get away with it, just because he was born into a rich and powerful family?
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by El Pollo Diablo » Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:27 am

Fwiw, yes, the general pleblic are pretty interested in the Royal family, at least when there's something interesting going on. Most of them would've needed reminding exactly who Andrew is, tbh, but now they can just about remember, they know he's a bad sort. Though mail readers I guess can rest easy knowing that, whilst he might have befriended a paedophile, even after he was known to be so, at least he doesn't have black skin or an American passport, so he's not that bad. The racist Sarah Vine must have struggled to update her chart.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Vertigowooyay » Fri Nov 22, 2019 11:45 am

Royals are always newsworthy, and always will be because of the high profile they have. I think most people know who Andrew is.

Which is why I’m baffled as to why there hasn’t been an interview with a Pizza Express employee who remembers that time when A MAJOR MEMBER OF THE ROYAL f.cking FAMILY popped in for tea.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Bird on a Fire » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:13 pm

Vertigowooyay wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 11:45 am
Royals are always newsworthy, and always will be because of the high profile they have. I think most people know who Andrew is.

Which is why I’m baffled as to why there hasn’t been an interview with a Pizza Express employee who remembers that time when A MAJOR MEMBER OF THE ROYAL f.cking FAMILY popped in for tea.
Maybe they signed an NDA for some purely innocent reason.

This is a joke. It definitely didn't happen.
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Tessa K
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Tessa K » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:32 pm

Bird on a Fire wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:13 pm
Vertigowooyay wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 11:45 am
Royals are always newsworthy, and always will be because of the high profile they have. I think most people know who Andrew is.

Which is why I’m baffled as to why there hasn’t been an interview with a Pizza Express employee who remembers that time when A MAJOR MEMBER OF THE ROYAL f.cking FAMILY popped in for tea.
Maybe they signed an NDA for some purely innocent reason.

This is a joke. It definitely didn't happen.
They may have done but there must have been people in there with phone cameras?

There's a horrible idea doing the rounds saying if he'd had a good strong wife he wouldn't have been a paedo/rapist as if it's the woman's job to divert her man's sexual appetites from any kind of criminality. It's by that arse Toby Young who strongly implies that he would have been in big sexual trouble without his wife. WTAF?

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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by Grumble » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:33 pm

Prince Andrew visited my lab a couple of years ago. I went out of my way to avoid him, but it did mean we got a load of painting done.
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Re: Prince Andrew

Post by GeenDienst » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:34 pm

This Toby Young of whom you speak. Does he have a newsletter?

That I can spit on, and then burn?
Just tell 'em I'm broke and don't come round here no more.

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