Title Waive: “Duke of York” Lost in a Tsunami of Allegations

Case study: When the royals do crisis communications

Great crisis-management case study popped up this weekend: the Andrew formerly known as “Prince” announced plans to stop using his titles and honors as new allegations emerged tying him ever deeper to the Jeffrey Epstein smut-fest.

British newspapers reported last week that Andrew emailed Epstein months after he claimed to have dropped all contact, promising that they would “keep in close touch” and “play some more soon.”

This weekend, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they are investigating claims that Andrew tried to use his protection officers to access personal info about Virginia Giuffre, the woman he paid off in a 2022 civil case.

But the interesting thing here isn’t Andrew’s behavior, it’s the statement he released.

Timing is everything

Nothing says “we’re trying to bury this” like releasing a story after hours or on a weekend. The Palace dropped Andrew’s statement at 7 p.m. on a Friday, checking both those boxes.

These days the news cycle never really ends, so clever timing is not as effective as it once was, but it put Andrew on the record before the next round of allegations landed and kept him off the evening news.

The timing didn’t change the outcome, but it’s never a bad practice to tell your story first and with your own spin.

Still, 7 p.m. Friday? A little cliché.

Falling on Charles’s sword

Andrew may be dropping this titles, but the tone of his message suggests that the royal “we” is still very much in play:

“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”

Interesting how the possessives are “me” — “my immediate and wider family” and “accusations about me” — but the action and authority (“discussion,” “concluded,” “work”) land squarely on his brother, King Charles III.

It’s an arrogant dodge: Andrew clings to the collective dignity while parking the crisis right in front of Charles’s castle.

Never complain, never explain

Andrew goes even more noble in the next sentence:

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my family and country first.”

It’s truly moving. I read it and instantly regretted that he has but one life to give for his country.

Then comes the encore:

“I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”

Hmm…was that your decision, Andrew? I thought it was more of a “Mother, may I?”

On November 20, 2019, the Queen’s office issued a statement on his behalf that read:

“Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”

Able was I ere I saw Elba

But back to the present:

“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further.”

I don’t even know how to diagram that sentence. Andrew is clearly looking for royal cover opening “With His Majesty’s agreement.” It almost sounds like Andrew proposed a sound plan of action.

But then it jumps the tracks: “we feel” and “I must.” Is His Majesty agreeing to the “we feel” or the Andrew “must?”

And just “a step further?” Unless he’s proposing to walk the plank, that seems a little restrained.

Royal Groundhog Day

So, what will that next step be?

“I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.”

We’ve heard this before — it’s Royal Groundhog Day!

Let’s start with the title and honours part. Back on January 13, 2022, the Queen issued a terse statement sucking back Andrew’s military affiliations and royal patronages. At that time, Andrew also agreed to stop using “His Royal Highness.”

(That’s the same statement that contained the grammatically tortured, “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties…” “Continue not to.” A simple “won’t” would have said it better.)

Anyway, now he will “no longer use” his titles or honours. He’s not renouncing them. No one is removing them. He’s not losing anything. He’s just not “using” them.

That probably would have landed better if it hadn’t appeared on a release titled, “A Statement by Prince Andrew.” I guess “prince” doesn’t count as one of his “no longer use” titles.

And a denial…

Andrew wraps up his statement with:

“As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”

I couldn’t find a statement where Andrew asserts this, but he has said it before — most memorably in his credibility-ending 2019 interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis.

Andrew hasn’t had his day in court (yet), so he has every right to assert his innocence. But don’t call back to the interview so bad they’ve made films about it.

What’s next?

British media are reporting that Andrew will get to keep his mansion in Windsor Great Park, but he won’t be invited to join the family for Christmas. It’s a hard-knock life when you’re an orphan.

But, I heard something today while surfing news reports on YouTube that made me wonder if this story may be headed in a different direction.

A commentator on TalkTV said, “It looks to be a scandal focused and located in the United States. It’s an American scandal, but it’s been characterized as a British one.” The show goes on to discuss how the focus has been on the British participants in the scandal, not the American ones.

Narratives have arcs and pendulums swing. Maybe the British public has had enough of Andrew-bashing, and they’re ready to turn the story back across the pond.

My bet is that the Andrew saga as a few more chapters to play out. After that? I have a feeling attention will turn to Norway, where the ailing and embattled Crown Princess also has a history of Epstein associations. As her son from a previous relationship stands trial for sex crimes this winter, it’s bound to come up.

Watch this space for the next royal comms take.

What you you think of Andrew, Epstein, and the whole mess? Chime in and comment!