Prince Andrew's hopes of relocating to the Middle East have been dashed by the ongoing conflict in the region, according to reports. The 66-year-old, who was stripped of royal titles and honours last year, had been considering moving to Bahrain or Abu Dhabi to reinvent himself.
However, with bombs and missiles falling across the region daily, any lingering hopes of starting anew among the Arab elite appear to have evaporated. A source told the Daily Mail: "There is no way any of them are going to go to the Gulf and Middle East region for a long time to come. It is far too dangerous for them, just as it is for everybody else."
Andrew's ties to the Middle East date back to his time at Gordonstoun school, where he met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, now the president of the UAE. The sheikh's family, with an estimated fortune of £225 billion, owns a majority stake in Manchester City Football Club and holds extensive property in London.
The former duke, who served as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy, had recognised the region as a lucrative source of wealth. His connections proved valuable in 2001 when he was appointed the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a role critics claim he later used for personal financial benefit. Andrew denies any wrongdoing.
A British diplomatic source said: "It's inconceivable that they'll be visiting the region now, certainly not while the war is going on and it could, of course, be an indefinite war." The development is a fresh blow for Andrew, who reportedly believes it is "deeply unfair that people have turned on him" amid the Jeffrey Epstein files scandal.
