As the dust settles on the exile of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, King Charles should be applauded for insisting they are chucked out of Royal Lodge.
But did he act swiftly enough for future Queen Catherine?
After all, she and William and their three children have just moved into their forever home, Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park. And, despite the King’s edict, Andrew and Fergie are still in their palatial home just over a mile down the road – and they could be there for months before their eviction.
Sources claim that, behind the scenes, Kate has been relentless in her demands for Andrew to be gone. Operating with an iron first she is reportedly determined that her young family should be nowhere near the putrid stench of the Yorks and their revolting behaviour.
Along with William she has by all accounts been one of the driving forces to see them banished from sight as soon as humanly possible.
Yes, the same sweet Kate who, with flowing tresses, made those loving home videos about her family and her recovery from cancer. The smiling Kate who captures people’s hearts across the world with her spontaneous charm, her empathy and indefatigable stoicism in the face of serious illness.
Yet what is becoming ever more apparent is that this Princess Perfect has an inner core of steel, and she is unafraid to use it in the case of Andrew.
And who can blame her? Like all of us, she is appalled by Andrew’s arrogance, by his and Fergie’s grotesque association with Jeffrey Epstein as well as by the couple’s overweaning self-regard.
What is becoming ever more apparent is that the smiling Kate who captures people’s hearts across the world has an inner core of steel
Kate is reportedly determined that her young family should be nowhere near the putrid stench of Andrew and Sarah and their revolting behaviour
But in Kate’s case the animus runs deeper. Historian Andrew Lownie points out in his book on the disgraced ex-prince that Andrew made ‘rude’ remarks about Kate in the past and was disrespectful to her.
So disrespectful that William, apparently, was left ‘infuriated’ and it led to a bitter feud between the two men.
Back in the day when Kate was joining the Royal Family, she would have had to curtsy to boorish Andrew. And he’s the sort of snob who would have insisted on deference from a commoner as Kate then was. And not just a commoner but the daughter of Carole, a former air hostess. Can’t you just imagine Andrew lording it over her?
How the tables have turned! Now he is stripped of being a prince, Andrew will have to bow to Kate if ever they meet – he’ll even have to bow to his own daughters.
The irony won’t be lost on our future Queen. Forget for a moment that admirable do-gooding image we all have of her – where Andrew and Fergie are concerned she’ll take no prisoners.
As for Harry and Meghan, she will have no truck with them either, and surely backs William’s decision to cut them out of their lives.
Why wouldn’t she, after all the spiteful things they have said about her and her husband and the rest of the Royal Family?
Making an enemy of the Princess of Wales is a bad idea. Harry and Meghan have found this out to their cost, and so have Andrew and Fergie. What’s the betting they are out of Royal Lodge sooner than expected, so that Kate and William and their young family can settle into their new home and decorate the Christmas tree without the neighbours from hell?
Underneath that angelic persona there’s a tigress protecting her brood in Kate who’s as tough as tungsten. Heaven help anyone who tries to get in her way.
