Prince Andrew and the cold hard facts

As stories go, it’s a good one! Prince Andrew, underage sex, plus a reputation and questionable judgement already in question now under further scrutiny.

This is the age of perceptions. Reputation is driven by what we feel and not by the cold, hard facts.

Without a rock-solid purpose for yourself, being a spare is a very considerable challenge and Andrew seems dazzled by money and power. In this latest debacle, Prince Andrew is sucked into the narrative surrounding Jane Doe and all the lurid stories that are circulating wildly. It is almost impossible for him to untangle himself.

Last week he was forced into an uncomfortable zone and spoke refuting the allegations. Without any real relationship with the media, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He probably shouldn’t have.

There may be no justice to the allegations made about Prince Andrew. They may well be deeply unfair, but there is a wider point better summed up by Aurelius.

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth” Marcus Aurelius