Prince Charles told the Queen to make the Duke of York step down from public life over fears that the Epstein scandal was overshadowing the general election.
Royal sources claim that Prince Andrew’s friendship with the convicted paedophile, who killed himself in prison, was too much of a distraction in the Prince of Wales’s opinion.
Charles, who is touring New Zealand with the Duchess of Cornwall, suggested his younger brother be withdrawn from the public eye to reduce publicity surrounding him, The Times reports.
Charles (left, in New Zealand with Camilla on Thursday) urged the Queen to have Andrew (right, with his brother) step down from royal duties
The Duke is facing a backlash after his Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis concerning the billionaire financier.
Senior aides are also said to have expressed similar worries to the Queen about distracting from the election.
It came after the controversy was mentioned on the ITV debate between Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
This led to fears that the issues surrounding Andrew could be perceived as interfering with democracy.
Prince Andrew (pictured leaving Buckingham Palace in central London on Thursday) was told to step down from royal duties
Other worries circulated about the fallout upstaging Charles and Camilla’s royal tour.
After hearing advice, the Queen acted on it and informed her 59-year-old son of the royal household’s view on how to proceed.
Despite Andrew issuing a statement saying he’d sought permission to step back from public duties, it is privately understood that he has basically been sacked.
A source told The Times that the question of the election was central to the matter. Another said the Prince of Wales would never have acted above his station and said the final decision lay with the Queen.
