Royal family only moves ‘when forced’ says expert

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This month, the Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his honorary military roles and royal patronages after a US judge ruled the Duke of York will face a civil trial over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when she was 17. Virginia Roberts Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions when she was a minor under US law.  Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations on a number of occasions and will fight the lawsuit as a ‘private citizen’.

Ms Giuffre’s allegations against the Duke of York have caused backlash against the Firm from certain quarters.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also sensationally stepped back as senior working members of the Royal Family two years ago, and made high-profile claims against the institution.

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in a two-hour CBS interview, Meghan opened up about her mental health battle during her time in the Firm, and the couple also claimed a senior royal made comments about their son Archie’s skin tone.

Prof Jones tipped the Royal Family to overcome these “crisis moments” as there is still a strong cultural respect for the monarchy in the UK.

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The academic told Express.co.uk: “My sense is that while this is obviously a crisis moment there’s a very strong cultural monarchism still present. 

“And it’s not just for the Queen ‒ the Queen is hugely respected and that’s a very interesting element of this, but it’s deeper than that and it goes right down to how people understand the state.

“There is still a sense of the monarchy standing for something bigger than just these individuals that are royals at any given time in history. That sense is still there. 

“That’s one of the reasons this is such a crisis. 

“People expect a lot from the monarchy, particularly the contemporary expectation of the monarchy upholding a positive image of the country and that’s one of the reasons this is so serious.

“There is a lot of expectation around the monarchy. 

“If people didn’t care, if it was an obsolete institution, this wouldn’t matter so much.”

Prof Jones added that, historically, the monarchy had faced a number of crises and proved “very good” at adapting to them. 

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The historian referenced the abdication crisis when King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and pursuing the divorce of her second.

It was widely believed that Edward, who was the nominal head of the Church of England, could not marry Ms Simpson and remain on the throne as the Church did not allow divorced people to remarry if their ex-spouse was still alive.

Prof Jones also pointed to a wave of anti-monarchism across Europe during World War 1.

She stated:“If that didn’t bring down the British monarchy when it brought down so many others I think that really illustrates how strong the British monarchy was and in some ways still is.”

The Royal Family’s survival was credited to its ability to be malleable, and adapt to historical circumstances.

In turn, Prof Jones claimed that it was likely the monarchy would survive the recent spate of problems.

She said: “There’s been a number of crises that have been moments of real danger for the British monarchy, and I think the monarchy is very good at adapting to broader changes and historical climate and context.

“When you look at that historic context and backdrop and realise that the monarchy has actually managed to come through those, I’m not a gambling person but my money’s on the fact that reform and adaptation will happen now and that ultimately it will survive this.

“They’re very very good at adapting to the mood music of history. 

“I would be surprised if they don’t do that again.”

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