Yesterday, we reported that Prince Andrew had been arrested on his 66th birthday. He was taken into custody due to suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew has been accused of sharing confidential information with the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have gotten bad news in the wake of Andrew’s arrest. Indeed, royal experts are saying that Andrew’s arrest could lead to trouble for his nephew and niece-in-law.
Major ‘Reforms’ May Be Coming
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie is claiming that in the wake of Andrew’s arrest, his older brother King Charles, 77, is preparing to strip titles from any member of the family who is no longer a working royal. This would include Meghan, 44, and Harry, 41, as they stepped down as senior royals six years ago.
“I think we are going to see some reforms being announced,” Lownie told News Nation. “More transparency about records and finances. And I think we may well see some moves to remove titles from anyone who isn’t in an active working role. So, I think they’re going to deal with the Andrew and Harry problem at the same time.”
Lownie went on to say that Charles had been hoping to delay these reforms until his son Prince William, 43, took over the throne. After Andrew’s arrest, however, Charles is feeling the pressure to act now.
“The public do want to see more obvious change,” Lownie explained. “I think this has hastened reforms that are so necessary that perhaps Charles was hoping William would start. But I think those will now be accelerated.”
This means that though Meghan and Harry present a different problem for the crown than Andrew does, they might meet the same fate. Indeed, they could be hit with an institutional severance that would allow the monarchy to draw a clear line between those who are working royals and everyone else.
More Consequences For Meghan And Harry
According to Lownie, Meghan and Harry’s two children Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, might also lose their royal titles if this happens. Just last month, insiders claimed that Harry had been assured that taxpayer-funded royal security would be reinstated for his family. After Andrew’s arrest, however, Lownie doubts that this will actually happen.
“It’s very hard to justify royal security paid for by the taxpayer when you’re no longer a working royal,” Lownie said. “And when many of the working royals don’t have proper security, and when you have plenty of money that you could fund your own security, and where you’re traveling to countries far more dangerous than Britain without getting security paid for by the British. I think he’s on a sticky wicket.”
Andrew is the first senior royal to be arrested in nearly 400 years. Indeed, the last royal to be arrested was King Charles I. He was convicted in 1649 of waging a ruthless civil war against his own people. At the time, a court ruled that Charles I was a “tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy.” He was subsequently publicly executed in London on Jan. 30, 1649 at age 48.
It’s clear that in the wake of Andrew’s arrest, the British monarchy is at a major crossroads. In the end, Meghan and Harry should prepare themselves to face some consequences from this as well.