According to several reports, there might be a particular reason why Her Majesty advised him to do so. The night before the Duke’s announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his main opponent, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, were asked if the monarchy was “fit for purpose”, during the first general election leaders debate on ITV. Mr Corbyn said the monarchy needed “improvement” and that “very, very serious” questions needed to be answered by the Duke of York.

CNN correspondent Max Foster wrote on Twitter: “Prince Andrew didn’t just expose himself in his BBC interview. It also prompted the question of whether the monarchy is ‘fit for purpose,’ which has become part of the British election debate. There is drift at Buckingham Palace, Philip retired, Charles away, the Queen will miss Lord Geidt, Sussexes unhappy, the interview – there are even rumours about a second one – was a disaster of Krakatoan proportions as for Andrew’s lifestyle.”

In a separate report, royal commentator Peter Hunt echoed such claims and told CNN: “The sacking of Prince Andrew, as it is, is unprecedented. We have to go back to the abdication of Prince Edward VIII in 1936 to see anything vaguely comparable,” said Hunt. “The position of the monarch is now up for question in 2019 which it wouldn’t have been just a few weeks ago."

“It’s being raised in debates during the British general election campaign. It’s being raised in debates on phone-ins across the UK on British radio stations. That is pretty unusual and that is why the British monarchy has acted as it has done and acted so speedily in removing Prince Andrew from public life.”