Punish Prince Andrew? This is no meritocracy, I'm afraid you get the royal family you didn't vote for | Marina Hyde

"The teenage girl at the centre of the picture is dead, having taken her own life at a remote Australian farmhouse earlier this year, unable to outrun her trauma. The person who took the photograph is dead, having somehow killed himself in a New York jail while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking. The grinning woman in the background is in prison herself, exalting Donald Trump's impeccable purity in the hope of getting moved to a nicer jail or even pardoned."

"And the smiling lunk with his arm round the teenage girl who he denies he had sex with later that evening is living in a 30-room mansion on a 98-acre estate (which even his monarch brother reportedly doesn't know how he pays for), joshing away at family funerals, and just sort of riding it out, each time another of his lies about this story is exposed."

"That, truly, is the royalty bonus. Don't call it a doghouse! It's a dogpalace. Amazingly, even as I was typing that paragraph, a story dropped revealing that Andrew met the extremely senior Chinese Communist party official at the centre of the collapsed Beijing spy case at least three times. Remember, the duke is already under fire for unwittingly hiring an alleged spy as his representative in China. Is there anywhere he doesn't get? He's like the Forrest Gump of appalling decisions."

Virginia Giuffre recounts an infamous photograph taken at Ghislaine Maxwell's London house. The teenage girl at its centre died by suicide earlier this year, unable to outrun her trauma. The person who took the photograph killed himself in a New York jail while awaiting trial on sex‑trafficking charges. Ghislaine Maxwell is imprisoned and has sought pardon. Prince Andrew denies sexual contact yet lives in a 30‑room mansion on a 98‑acre estate and continues public appearances as allegations and repeated exposures of lies persist. He met a senior Chinese Communist party official multiple times and faces scrutiny for hiring an alleged spy. Royal sanctions debated include removal from ceremonial roles.

Read at www.theguardian.com