The Celebrity HR Department

S3 E2 - HR vs Andrew Mountbatten Windsor - The Cost of Keeping the Untouchable

Jon Wells Season 3 Episode 2

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0:00 | 52:12

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In 2025, Buckingham Palace finally began the formal process of stripping Prince Andrew of his style, titles and honours — a royal “sacking” years in the making.

This episode asks one question: why didn’t they end it sooner? Because the timeline is full of off-ramps — moments where a normal employer could have cut ties, limited the damage, and avoided years of reputational bleed. Instead, the Palace hesitated, managed the optics, and paid the price in headlines, credibility, and public cost.

We break down the key events and pinpoint the biggest missed chances to act — including the Newsnight interview, the US civil lawsuit, and the post-settlement period when a clean exit was still possible. Then we turn the royal mess into practical workplace lessons: how to recognise when a difficult employee has become untenable, choose the least-worst exit route, and communicate decisions without creating a second scandal.

Because you might not work in a palace, but you might work somewhere that keeps an “untouchable” far too long.