Royal Expert Reveals How The Queen Is Damaging Her Image

There is no denying that the queen of England has had a rough year. There is the ongoing Prince Andrew saga revolving around his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Then there was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, in which the former royal couple accused members of the royal family of racism. And of course, there is the explosive popularity of the Netflix series "The Crown," which does not always portray the royal family in a flattering light.

Not too far away from 100 years old, Queen Elizabeth most likely doesn't have that many years of her reign left. As the longest-reigning monarch in the United Kingdom's history, she presumably wants to leave behind a legacy to be admired by future generations — the opposite of somebody like former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose entire legacy became tarnished after he resigned in disgrace. But one royal expert claims that such a tarnishing may too happen to the queen if she doesn't turn things around. So, what is the queen doing to potentially trash her legacy?

Katie Nicholl, a royal expert and correspondent for True Royalty TV, claims that Queen Elizabeth's support of Prince Andrew is ruining her reputation, per Daily Mail. As noted by the tabloid, Nicholl appeared on True Royalty's "The Royal Beat" and let the queen have it. "People are concerned that the queen is so publicly supporting Andrew," she said, presumably referring to a report from The Telegraph that she is spending millions to fund Andrew's legal defense team.

"Andrew hasn't got any ... accessible money," Nicholl said. "They've just had to sell their chalet in Verbier – there was a massive mortgage. I don't think there's the money you would associate with a dukedom." Nicholl continued on, saying that taking Andrew in as he handles his legal issues is not the way to go. "She is allowing him at Balmoral and allowing him to sort of hide in her skirts. And I think that is for the queen's image, particularly in America, it is damaging for her," she noted. 

While Andrew has moved back into his own home, the Daily Mail reports that he hid out at Balmoral with the Queen and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for three weeks. The tabloid alleged this was to shield him from reports that one of his alleged sexual assault victims, Virginia Giuffre, was suing him in New York.