Interesting reaction to my suggestion that the man is innocent (it's called the Presumption of Innocence and remains, surprisingly, a basic tenet of law). 99% strongly disagree - many of whom think I must be joking when I urge King Charles to bring him back into the working Royals. Andrew is a victim of the crime of this Century - the False Allegations Industry. Liars, exaggerators, the gullible, the genuinely deluded and criminals after cash - this crime is the modern equivalent of Blackmail. But because the media considers it a far better story to call him Guilty, the vast majority of the public, too lazy to give any thought, consider it a fact. It's not. It's a lie.

Many say "why did he pay her off?". I refused to do so and found it is very hard to prove a negative, especially when the false claims go back decades. What would you do if, like Michael Jackson, you had loads of money? The reality is that the law MUST be changed. Unless there is hard evidence, people should not be prosecuted, let alone convicted.

Andrew did nothing wrong. So let us not punish him.

I agree that a pressing social problem that needs righting is assumed guilt by accusation alone.

The Royal Family - like any other body - should assume the innocence of the accused if and until found otherwise. Why they are continuing to allow assumptions to be made about Andrew by keeping him in the cold, only they can answer...

But the problem goes deeper than that WYOT. Even if guilty of doing something that is illegal and wrong today, it may not have been either then. But the media blurs the line. "Female voting? Shocking". Yes that's the other way around but you get my point.

There was a moment outside of Balmoral when the family were going back inside but Prince Andrew turned and gave the crowd another wave and was greeted with cheers (not jeers).
The media like to keep pushing the negative (encouraged by twitter orcs) but I suspect the general population are capable of see beyond the hype.

Yes judgeing people (in a Court or on social media) who are alive or dead against the laws and mores of an age they weren't living in at the time of the alleged misdemeanours, is a strange way to go on, but near ubiquitous nowadays. I understand that the media can get a GOOD story from it, but what do others get? A feeling of moral superiority, probably. Always a scary way for a society to operate.

Bring Andrew back in from the cold.

Martin Hutchinson wrote:
Bring Andrew back in from the cold.


The route back will begin with him being permitted to wear his Vice Admiral's uniform at part of the funeral ceremony; he has retained this Naval rank.

Paul B wrote:
There was a moment outside of Balmoral when the family were going back inside but Prince Andrew turned and gave the crowd another wave and was greeted with cheers (not jeers).
The media like to keep pushing the negative (encouraged by twitter orcs) but I suspect the general population are capable of see beyond the hype.

which as I suspect is reality..that far more people believe in Andrew's innocence but the loud mouths suck the oxygen out of the publicity.

Appalled that people berate a man mourning his mother's death. The disrespect is ghastly.

The Queen's death has caught Britain's vile media off guard..convinced she would never get the flower tributes Diana did (although I'd prefer they donated to Food Banks) but she's getting them at all the royal castles.

And the so obvious bullshit they invent about Meghan and Harry.

And the tiniest of mentions that Andrew's disgusting accuser (I have no idea of the truth but she's a revolting woman..Epstein had hideous taste in everything) is also accused of vile sexual assault.

So no ME TOO moment for her.

## I'm over the endless orgy of TV tributes but then I bore easily.

hedda wrote:
Paul B wrote:
There was a moment outside of Balmoral when the family were going back inside but Prince Andrew turned and gave the crowd another wave and was greeted with cheers (not jeers).
The media like to keep pushing the negative (encouraged by twitter orcs) but I suspect the general population are capable of see beyond the hype.



which as I suspect is reality..that far more people believe in Andrew's innocence but the loud mouths suck the oxygen out of the publicity.

Appalled that people berate a man mourning his mother's death. The disrespect is ghastly.

The Queen's death has caught Britain's vile media off guard..convinced she would never get the flower tributes Diana did (although I'd prefer they donated to Food Banks) but she's getting them at all the royal castles.

And the so obvious bullshit they invent about Meghan and Harry.

And the tiniest of mentions that Andrew's disgusting accuser (I have no idea of the truth but she's a revolting woman..Epstein had hideous taste in everything) is also accused of vile sexual assault.

So no ME TOO moment for her.

## I'm over the endless orgy of TV tributes but then I bore easily.

Could you explain exactly which bullshit about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been invented, please, Hedda?

I'll answer this for Hedda if I may, putting my thoughts across. Example - it is perfectly natural that someone did wonder what colour skin the children would have with a black grandmother. Yet the media, totally and absolutely, have painted this as a racist remark and groomed Meghan to express it in a way that she and Harry were deeply offended, which I suspect, at the time, they were not. Why did media turn against her when they did not do so, against Diana? Again, I suspect she was not available night and day, seven days a week, for photos and interviews and Front Pages. The media HATES that. A pretty girl sells [papers! And when someone dares disobey their demands - they turn against them. When, then, again, they dare SUE and - God forbid - win; the media, every one, goes into attack mode. Forever. Nothing you can do. And us normal people, who really aren't interested in such people, are happy to go along with the drip, drip and consider fiction and exaggeration as fact.

Yes I'm sure Meghan "could be difficult" but I bet never as difficult as Philip (my favourite Royal). Yes I bet she'd have snapped at an incompetent footman like Charles did at the signing. But media would not dare knock the King (yet). Yes I bet she could be as hard to please as Anne or Camilla - but they have never sued media - and won.

We, the public, fall for media hype every time. Even when it's as blatant as Covid or Brexit.