Politicians rarely comment on the royals. That could all change after the Andrew saga
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"You might think this is about Andrew," a senior Whitehall figure wonders out loud. "But put this in your diary as a pivot point in the relationship between Palace and Parliament." Will this royal mess usher in a new era? And despite their conventional refusal to comment, could politicians become quicker to point out the monarchy's flaws, and more willing to speak out?
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"Nice try!" was the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's response when he was asked by reporters about the original, disastrous interview with the man who was until 48 hours ago afforded his title Prince Andrew, back in 2019. That just about sums up the response - for years. Ministers would rather do almost anything than speak out on the saga. "It was more than being allergic - you were going into a no-win scenario," a former No 10 official recalls. "You either incur the wrath of the Palace, or you look like you are defending the indefensible." The avoid-it-if-you-possibly-can tactic was not just associated with the long-running Andrew saga. For many years, the broad convention has been that senior politicians who want to get near government keep their mouths diplomatically shut about the royals, aside from bland praise, or supportive quiet murmuring. And the convention worked both ways - with the Royal Family never talking about political matters in public. Polite nods in both directions were the order of the day. It has been deliberate - "don't upset the Queen, don't upset the King." In our political system, it's hard to think of other areas where there is the same kind of unwritten rule. The former No 10 source says the prime minister is rarely told to not do something, but when it comes to the royals, aides and officials are "preprogrammed" to advise: do not get involved.
There have, of course, always been notable exceptions. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is a republican, and questioned whether the royal family should be scaled back. Boris Johnson infuriated the Palace when he closed down Parliament for weeks, suspected of seeking to stop MPs trying to thwart his ambition to take the UK out of the EU. For the Palace, that nakedly political action was deeply uncomfortable. David Cameron was rapped on the knuckles when he claimed the late queen "purred" down the phone line when he told her the result of the Scottish referendum. The leader of the Greens, Zack Polanski, tells me they are a republican party, and there are plenty of proud republicans peppered through Labour, the SNP, and Lib Dem ranks, although those aren't the parties' official positions.
The truth is, for those in, or close to power, the monarchy is not just a fact of political life, but part of it. The reason? Don't forget, the crown is depicted on the headed paper of government documents, on the front of our laws, and stamped on the side of ministers' red boxes. The government is his or her majesty's administration. Ministers are appointed by the Crown. And that's not just abstract. Senior politicians who attend the Privy Council will see the monarch on a regular basis. The prime minister famously has an "audience", a one-to-one chat, with the King every week. So the government and Palace are fundamentally connected through process and personalities. Insiders underline these real relationships are another reason for not taking potshots.
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In the last few weeks, however, there is no question there's been a bolder appetite in Parliament. Revelation after revelation about Andrew's behaviour has prompted an unusual level of chatter. We've seen MPs trying to force a change in the law for him to lose his titles. The Lib Dems pondered using their allotted time in the Commons to debate cranking up the pressure. And the powerful Public Accounts Committee has been demanding answers over Andrew paying only a peppercorn rent at his home in Windsor. Even though his big brother is calling in the removal vans, the PAC is still waiting for responses to its queries. Depending on the responses it gets, they may still launch a bigger investigation into the financial trail. And while it still seems unlikely, the committee's MPs could even summon Andrew to give evidence to them.
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