On Christmas Day, Prince Andrew walked behind his older brother as the royals made their way to church at Sandringham, said Jenny Hjul on Reaction – signalling the "tentative rehabilitation" of the disgraced duke. Friends of the King attributed this to his "typical kindness", and a promise he'd made to his mother to look after Andrew. Alas, the gesture was "badly timed", coming only days after a court in the US had ruled that a trove of papers relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be made public.
The documents have contained no bombshells; but they've added new detail to existing claims (which Andrew denies) such as that the teenage girl he was alleged to have had sex with said that she had been paid $15,000 to do so. And the publicity has caused a new furore. Charles is said not to want to banish his brother, but he may have to: Epstein sleaze continues to tarnish the duke, and the Palace by association.
Andrew 'distracts attention'
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