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He is an impeccable champion. The South Atlantic War and the British Prince were over Andrew He returns to his homeland victorious. Barely 22 years old, the blue-blooded veteran helicopter pilot reaches the pinnacle of glory and receives the love of his people.
September 17, 1982 is the day the young man disembarked in port PortsmouthIn the south of England, he smiles at the cheering crowd, the journalists surrounding him, and the girls who dream of him as their Prince Charming. His war adventure against a country called Argentina Finished and AndrewQueen Elizabeth II’s favorite son is thrilled.
And 43 years after that epic homecoming, there’s nothing left of it War hero. Over the years, the Duke of York has been involved in scandals and scandals – he was accused of abusing a minor in his escapades with American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – which is why he was stripped of his honorary titles, including the title of “His Royal Highness” as well as the title of Prince.
They also took away part of his titles due to the war and the right to live in the royal lodge. He is a true outcast within the royal family.
And now, in recent days, the final blow has come from the South Atlantic: the authorities of the Malvinas Islands, who for decades celebrated him as a war hero and named various buildings and institutions after him, have decided to erase all traces of Andrés.
But going back to the September holidays of 1982, it must be said that the future Andrew Mountbatten Windsor It was seen as promising. Brother of the current King of England, Charles IIIFor Princess Anne and Prince edward, He took the world before him on that raucous Friday in Portsmouth.
The moment of happiness was evident in a photo in which the former prince appears, in full naval uniform, without losing his smile, biting the stem of a rose that his mother was proud of. Queen of England.
According to what was published by the British media “The Sun” years later, the English monarch, who died in September 2022, always carried in his bag a photo taken on that day in PortsmouthIn which his son appeared, who had recently arrived safe and sound from the war.
Like his father, the prince philip edinburgh, Andrew He joined the British Royal Navy to serve his country. He did so on May 11, 1979, when he was 19 years old. He had graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, south-east England, and specialized in piloting marine helicopters. Royal Air Force.
when April 2, 1982 Argentina regained the Malvinas Islands, the Georgia Islands and the South Sandwich Islands, which had been in English hands, and Prince Andrés was a second lieutenant of Naval Air Squadron 820, on board an aircraft carrier. HMS Invincible.
The media reported at the time that there were moves by the British government to remove the prince from the most dangerous sources of conflict and assign him administrative duties, but the Queen herself opposed the aforementioned removal.
“She considered that a member of her family who joined the armed forces signed the same contract as other sailors, soldiers and airmen, and he had to do his duty,” he said. Anne Glenn Connera friend of the royal family, in 2023 to the Daily Mail.
However, the same woman said that Andrew’s brother, Crown Prince Charles – the current English monarch – was not allowed to attend the fight.
Glenconner He stressed that it must have been “frustrating” for the heir to the throne not to go to war, especially when his brother returned “a hero, with a rose between his teeth, very handsome, and everyone thought he was wonderful.”
Second Lieutenant Mountbatten Windsor He was on board the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible During the South Atlantic conflict, as a helicopter pilot King of the sea. He participated in anti-submarine patrols and also flew several hours behind his ship to act as a decoy against Argentine Exocet missiles and to confuse enemy radars.
He also participated in rescue missions, such as when Argentine Navy aircraft rammed and sank the Atlantic Conveur, a merchant ship transporting weapons, on May 25, 1982. There, Andrés helped rescue sinking survivors from the icy South Seas.
“They shot me, and that was at the same moment they hit me Atlantic carrier. But the missile was not directed at me. I was in the air, conducting an anti-submarine patrol, when I was told to climb to a certain altitude and drop hay to confuse the enemy’s radar and make them think there were a lot more targets than they thought. “The straw missiles confused the enemy’s missiles, causing them to often choose the wrong target,” the man himself wrote. AndrewThis was posted on his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s Instagram account in April 2022, 40 years after the start of the war.
“I was flying when I saw a projectile launched from one of our boats. It was heading straight towards us, but at the last moment it turned to our left – continued Andrés -. After that, the carrier was hit and the fire broke out. We had to stop what we were doing to start a search and rescue mission for our men in the water.”
In the same writing, the third son of Elizabeth II He reflected on how the conflict in the South Atlantic changed his life: “I left a young man, I went to war full of courage, and I came back a changed man. I left behind childish things and false courage. I returned a man with a full knowledge of human fragility and suffering.”
However, in the same position, former Prince Andris will carry out an action that will be severely criticized. He signed his note with a name “Your Royal Highness”This is the title that his mother stripped him of at the beginning of 2022.
In this way, the heroic side of the former member of the royal family was brought together in the same post as his stark fall from grace, the victim of his own sins and vices.
The Falklands War lasted 74 days. The English were victorious and the son of the Queen of that country, who returned to England on board the HMS Invincible, became one of the famous faces of that victory there.
And much more so when the difficult phrase is at the beginning of the conflict “Let the little prince come.”attributed to the general Mario Benjamin Menendezthe last Argentine governor of the islands, referring to Andrés.
These days, it has been learned that King Charles III is working to remove the last titles that link him to his status as a war hero from his younger brother. This is an honorary military position for Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy.
On the contrary, the latest information that has emerged is that the king has authorized his younger brother to retain ownership The medal he received for his participation in the conflict. The argument advanced was that it was an honor earned for active service, rather than an honor bestowed by the Crown.
In this way, with this last exception, there will be almost no honorable proof of those times of wartime glory for the former Duke of York. Only that medal, his personal memories and photographs of his arrival at Portsmouth, where the young newcomer had delighted him, remained safe.
The rose that the former prince placed in his smiling mouth that time later withered. The same thing happened, years later, with his smile and his reputation. Andrewthe war hero that the English hate today.
Outside the history of the Malvinas
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s fingerprint was erased from public buildings in the Falkland Islands. woman It is reported that they removed all the plaques celebrating his heroism and subsequent visits.
Malvinas were their last refuge. The place where his bravery and dedication were recognized. It is perhaps the only place where his fame has long surpassed that of his brothers.
Three weeks after losing his title as Prince and Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has begun to be erased from the history of the Falkland Islands.
At Mount Pleasant Airport, which Andrew opened in 1985 to the cheers of fans, three years after his return from the war, the plaque commemorating his passing was removed. It has just been dismantled.
At the Infante Junior School in Puerto Argentino, part of the wall that was dedicated to him appears empty today, with memorial plaques and plaques. They deleted it. They took everything out. Former Prince Andrew is “no longer associated with our centre,” a school official confided woman.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, despite his association with the royal family, was a patron of many local institutions associated with wildlife conservation. These organizations also reject this. The new island research station also “unhanged” the plaque celebrating their commitment and thanking them for their assistance.
This process began, in the Malvinas Islands, in 2022. After Andres reached a financial agreement with Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual assault, he turned to the hospital. King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Puerto Argentino also removed a plaque bearing his name from the building.
Andrés’s heroism during the war remains one of the few bright chapters of his life. In the Malvinas Islands he became a national hero. Now, 43 years later, he is a disgrace to the royal family and the House of Windsor, and everyone wants his name erased.
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