It seems like every week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are finding new ways to disrupt the lives of the famous Royal Family. This arguably all started with Megxit, when the two announced they would step back from many of the traditional royal responsibilities and start a new life elsewhere, ultimately settling in America. The two knew they’d have to make their own money instead of relying on royal connections, and it didn’t take long for them to land a number of lucrative media deals.
These deals include a Netflix docuseries called Harry & Meghan. While that show is nominally about following the lives of Harry, Meghan, and their children, the scandalous royal couple isn’t afraid to drop continued criticisms of specific royals, including claims that the family once lied to protect Prince William, but they were unwilling to do the same for Harry.
Eventually, critics of Harry and Meghan noticed something odd: for all the naming and shaming the couple is willing to do, they never seemed to go after Prince Andrew. This is, frankly, odd since the sex scandals with Andrew are a major sign of this family’s “royal” dysfunction.
What’s the secret reason Harry and Meghan are holding back from criticizing Andrew? Keep reading to discover the surprising answer!
Prince Andrew’s shameful fall from grace
To better understand how odd it is that Harry and Meghan never criticize Andrew in interviews, it’s important to understand the sheer weight of the allegations against him. In the late ‘90s, Andrew developed a relationship with infamous sex pest Jeffrey Epstein. Thanks to Andrew, both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were able to visit Queen Elizabeth’s luxurious Balmoral residence in 1999. They were also present at Andrew’s birthday party at Windsor Castle a year later.
In 2001, Virginia Giuffre alleged that Andrew sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was only 17 years old. After these allegations emerged, Andrew eventually had to step back from his public duties and was ultimately stripped of his royal patronages and military affiliations. Andrew eventually reached a settlement with Giuffre, and while her more salacious claims could not be verified, the public knowledge of Andrew’s longtime association with Epstein and Maxwell means he will forever be obscured in a cloud of shame.
RELATED: A Timeline Of Prince Andrew’s Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell
Choosing friendship over drama
Given all of that information, it would have been pretty easy for Harry and Meghan to name-drop Andrew during their infamous interview with Oprah. That was the same interview, of course, where they mentioned that a “senior royal” had expressed concerns over the skin color of Meghan’s unborn son Archie. Many at the time speculated this was a reference to Prince Philip or possible (now Queen) Camilla, but one thing was clear: Harry and Meghan weren’t afraid to go after senior royalty and even make sure everyone thought the family was racist.
Why, though, did the couple decline to go after Prince Andrew, both during this infamous interview and other media appearances? The most likely reason for this is, as Cheat Sheet reports, that Harry and Meghan are close friends with Princess Eugenie, Andrew’s daughter. They were very tight with Eugenie back in England and have remained close friends even since moving to America. In fact, Meghan even mentioned to Oprah how she and Harry are friends with Eugenie and Jack. It makes sense, then, that she wouldn’t want to be praising one of her few royal friends and then immediately throwing that friend’s father under the bus to score some cheap political points against the Royal Family.
Staying in touch with Eugenie
How close are Harry and Meghan to Princess Eugenie? Back in England, right before the world found out that Harry and Meghan are dating, that couple snuck out with Eugenie and Jack for a special Halloween night out on the town. And since Megxit, Eugenie remains the only royal to ever visit Harry and Meghan in California. She even went with Harry to the Superbowl last year, helping the prince to absorb some quintessential American culture.
While Eugenie is likely fond of Meghan as well, it seems she is closest to Harry, and that has been true from a young age. According to People, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand detail the royals’ early relationship in Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, writing that “Eugenie had always been more than just a cousin to Harry. They were also the closest of friends.”
While that hopefully remains true, it looks like Harry has decided to stop taking it easy on Prince Andrew.
RELATED: The Tragic Truths About Princesses Beatrice And Eugenie
Harry takes the gloves off in his autobiography
While the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan has been getting all of the attention lately, Prince Harry also released an autobiography, Spare, that contains more criticisms of the Royal Family. And in that book, Harry becomes the first royal to officially criticize Prince Andrew.
As Yahoo! reports, Harry wrote of the older family member that “he was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security.” Continuing, a bitter Harry wrote, “Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren’t on the list.”
Friendship with Eugenie notwithstanding, it looks like Harry isn’t afraid to point out the hypocrisy of the royals protecting an alleged sex pest so fiercely while not extending similar protections to Harry and Meghan. It’s a valid criticism, but at this point, it’s fair to say the outspoken prince better hope nobody digs any skeletons out of his own closet!