A mother's love can be blinding, and in Queen Elizabeth's case, it's blinding her from the truth.
The 94-year-old monarch is still holding onto hope that she can aid in the rehabilitation of her favorite son's image. We watched the Queen work her magic with Charles in the late '90s/early 2000s. Still, Charles was never hated for doing anything as vile as what Prince Andrew has been accused of.
The Sun reports that Andrew has been sneaking over to Windsor Castle for late-night meetings with his mom. Both of them reportedly believe Andrew is about to be cleared in his links to Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes. Furthermore, they're confident he can return to public life as soon as 2021. It's been just a year since Andrew stepped back "for the foreseeable future."
Palace officials have denied any formal talks of a return. Still, it's clear Andrew is lobbying behind the scenes.
Prince Andrew continues to pine for a return to royal life. Now he's being a little more proactive about it. The Sun shares that Andrew has been making secret visits to Windsor Castle to talk to the Queen about returning to public life.
"This looked like a deliberate attempt not to be seen," an insider shared.
He reportedly has made several late-night visits for chats with his mother. Andrew is openly known as the Queen's favorite child, and she is reportedly not opposed to his comeback.
It's been a year since Prince Andrew's awful BBC interview when he defended his friendship with late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also made some dubious claims (like that he doesn't sweat) while trying to defend himself from accusations leveled at him. It was widely seen as a bad look, with many wondering why the palace would give the OK to such an interview.
Andrew believes that his comeback will simply take some strategic framing, believing it to be similar to the rehabilitation of Charles' image post-Diana. He may be forgetting that one took quite a few years.
A source close to the Duke of York told The Sunday Times that Andrew is exploring his options.
"The duke is spending time working out how he can serve his country and support the monarchy in the future, and what else he might want to do with his life," the source shared.
"He's locked down at Royal Lodge [his home on the Queen's Windsor estate], thinking about his future service and public role. He has some clear thoughts."
"He's very sensitive to the public mood and acutely conscious that the public are the most important stakeholder. He feels he has support from the family, very much so, including all his siblings and his parents," the source continued.
However, it's pretty widely known that Prince Charles doesn't have the same patience for Andrew as his mother.
A senior royal official confirmed to The Sunday Times that conversations have been had but that any return from Andrew wouldn't be in an official capacity.
"There are family discussions about it. But while the hurdles around the Epstein case are still hanging over him, it will be difficult for him to represent the family in any capacity as his presence would overshadow the work of the monarchy. In these situations, the monarchy tends to take precedence over the family," the source said.
"The royal family is supportive of him thinking about what life might be like after issues are resolved, but the palace is not currently planning any future rebranding of his role," they added.
While there isn't a path for official return, the royal family does feel like progress has been made. Andrew is now accepting that he cannot return as a senior member of the royal family.
Andrew has to consider that his appeals to the Queen will only work for so long. It's Charles and William who hold keys to the future.
"The toxicity of his reputation is that he is indelibly associated with Epstein, and he cannot shed that reputation," the source noted.
"The Queen has a soft spot for Andrew, but the Prince of Wales and Prince William will have a bigger say and I can't see the royal family allowing him a return to any kind of public role," they continued.
"No charity, brand or business would touch him and the military want him out. What public role can there be?"
"He must come to terms with being a private member of the royal family, though that will crush him," they continued. It doesn't mean he has to be completely out of the loop.
"His best bet would be to go and manage one of the royal estates, while quietly doing some volunteering."
Even though this is a train wreck in the making, it still looks like it could feasibly happen. The royal family is gambling on the public's forgiving nature. It will be interesting to see how those bets play out.
