The China Mail - From adored prince to royal outcast, Andrew's protracted downfall

It marks a historic and remarkable fall from grace for the 65-year-old, who was once the favourite son of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Born on February 19, 1960 into a life of luxury and ease, in his younger years the British public adored the handsome prince and helicopter pilot who fought in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina.

He was seen as fun and comfortable with people, unlike his more remote and stiffer older brother, King Charles III.

But as his excesses expanded and times and attitudes changed, the public grew tired of his behaviour and then increasingly angry.

This month 91 percent of people polled by YouGov had a negative opinion of Andrew.

He is "arrogant, boorish, entitled", broadcaster and historian Jonathan Dimbleby, a friend of King Charles, said Friday. There were also whispers that Andrew was not particularly bright.

The re-emergence of allegations that he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, a victim of convicted US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, on three separate occasions, including twice when she was just 17, proved the decisive blow.

In excerpts of her posthumous memoir published in early October, the woman at the centre of the Epstein scandal said the British royal behaved as if having sex with her was his "birthright".

- Ridiculed -

Andrew has been a persistent source of embarrassment for the monarchy.

A devastating 2019 television interview in which he defended his friendship with the late Epstein, and failed to express any sympathy for his victims, further humiliated the family.

He also faced ridicule after countering a claim that he had been "profusely sweating" during an alleged encounter with Giuffre, saying he could not sweat because of a medical condition.

He was stripped of his military and His Royal Highness (HRH) titles in 2022 and shuffled off into retirement after being sued by Giuffre.

The ex-prince, who denies her allegations, avoided trial in the US by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement.

Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia on April 25.

In further damaging revelations, a court ruling in December highlighted that a suspected Chinese spy enjoyed an "unusual degree of trust" from the prince, who had invited him to his 60th birthday party.

His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has added to the royal family's woes -- numerous UK charities severed ties with her last month after a new email emerged in which she called Epstein a "supreme friend".

- 'Air Miles Andy' -

Internationally, Andrew was best known for decades for his 1986 wedding to the fun-loving Fergie, boosting support for the royals.

Bubbly, friendly Sarah had been considered an ideal match for Andrew, who had a reputation as a "playboy prince".

The couple had two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.

But by 1992 the pair had split amicably, contributing to what the late queen called her "annus horribilis". They finalised the divorce in 1996.

Andrew left the Royal Navy in 2001, after 22 years of service as a helicopter pilot, and became a special government trade envoy, earning a new nickname -- "Air Miles Andy" -- as he jetted around the world at taxpayers' expense.

Reportedly he preferred to stay in top hotels, rather than the UK embassies in each country.

Questions also piled up about his judgement after links to various dictators emerged, and he faced repeated criticism of being brash, arrogant and rude.

The combined concerns around Andrew culminated in him leaving the role in 2011.

Three years later, he set up his charitable Pitch@Palace scheme pairing small businesses and investors. But its success was also eventually overshadowed by the Epstein scandal.

On Thursday, King Charles moved decisively to try to end once and for all the scandal around Andrew, stripping him of all his royal titles and ousting him from his home on the Windsor estate.

From now on, he will be known as plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

But it is understood the king will fund Andrew's relocation from the Royal Lodge, where he has lived for two decades, to the isolated rural Sandringham estate, perched on the eastern English coast in Norfolk.

The king will also make private provision for his brother.

Amid all the remaining questions, one thing appears certain: Andrew and Sarah will no longer be welcome for royal family Christmases at Sandringham.

N.Wan--ThChM