That, we now know, is the fate of the man who, despite being steeped in scandal, is still eighth in line to the British throne. Thank heavens that someone with such seemingly shocking judgement will almost certainly never ascend to it.
Andrew has been a prominent member of Britain’s ruling elite and, as a working member of the royal family until recently, would have received many millions of pounds of public money.
A man who has received many millions in public funding, who has held public roles, cannot continue to pretend that, when it comes to money, he is just like any other ordinary citizen. Nor can the Palace keep up its preposterous pretence that the financial dealings of a senior royal, even one no longer carrying out public duties, are simply a matter for him and HMRC.
Yet the lack of transparency does not stop with Andrew. For years, the royals have tried to dodge even the most elementary questions about their finances, wealth and cost to the taxpayer – and mostly they have succeeded.
That’s why, for example, it took years of digging and a recent Sunday Times and Dispatches investigation to reveal that the King and his heir, through their Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall private estates, are raking in millions in taxpayers’ money by charging various government departments and public bodies to use their land for things like parking ambulances, conducting military training or maintaining prisons.
No one is laughing at Nigel Farage now
Read MoreFor too long the royals have wanted to have it both ways, happily receiving eye-watering sums from the British state to fund their lavish lifestyles, while refusing to answer questions about their business dealings and associations. They insist they are public servants when it comes to the state paying for their palaces and private jets, but claim to be private citizens when tricky questions emerge about their wealth.
At the same time, government departments should dismantle the wall of secrecy they have erected around the royals. Until now, for example, journalists trying to uncover details of Andrew’s former role as the UK’s special envoy for trade were met with bluster and blockage. Multiple government departments have insisted they have no knowledge of any of the questions being asked. Either that is untrue, or there has been an appalling failure to keep records about the government-supported work of a senior royal, and heads should roll.
The culture of secrecy and subterfuge that has long surrounded the monarchy’s financial affairs is completely at odds with the behaviour that citizens of a liberal European democracy should have the right to expect from their heads of state.
Ben Kentish presents his LBC show from Monday to Friday at 10pm, and is former Westminster editor
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