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The British royal family has had to deal with a lot of controversies lately. While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprising exit from the royal life ruled headlines, news of the divorces of other members of the royal family also broke out. And now, an expert is saying that the timing of these recent announcements relates to each other.

Royal Divorces

The Earl and Countess wed in 1993

Among the divorced couples is Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn. Although their split was only recently made public, some sources are saying that they’ve actually been separated since the previous year. Following on their heels is Her Majesty’s nephew David Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon and his wife Serena Stanhope, who reportedly ‘amicably agreed’ on separating.

The Phillips weren’t planning on making their divorce public but decided to after the information was leaked to the press. Considering this and the eight-day difference between the announcements, some are questioning whether these were influenced by other factors.

All About Timing

Princess Beatrice’s father, Prince Andrew, is also currently facing controversies of his own

Nigel Cawthorne, a royal writer, suggests that the separating couples might have totally skipped on letting the public know the bad news if not for Princess Beatrice’s announcement of her upcoming wedding details.

The positive news reportedly helped during the negative royal coverage that accompanied ‘Megxit’ earlier in the year. This, in turn, gave way for another round of bad news for Phillips and the Earl of Snowdon, according to Cawthorne.

He further added that the two men couldn’t have made their announcements without other good news like Princess Beatrice’s.

Princess Beatrice, Prince Andrew’s elder daughter, is bound to wed businessman Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on May 29, as Buckingham Palace announced.

Opposing View

The couple announced their stepping down from their position as senior royals in January

Meanwhile, another royal commentator believes that the timing of the aforementioned announcements didn’t really do much in regards to the coverage of Prince Andrew’s abuse allegations and Megxit.

According to Richard Fitzwilliams, the royal divorces won’t change the public’s opinions as the Phillips and the Earl of Snowdon aren’t working royals.

There’s also the fact that the Earl is quite far down the succession line (21st in line). Still, Fitzwilliams commented that the timing of the announcements is strange.

In the end, negative news on the royal family continues to circulate, especially now that the Queen has reportedly prevented Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from using ‘Sussex Royal’ for their new charity.

Sam Elliot