Prince Andrew has officially been stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages, and will never be allowed to return to public duties. A royal source also confirmed that he will no longer officially use the title ‘His Royal Highness.’ The decision has come just one day after a federal judge in New York denied the 61-year-old royal’s motion to drop the sexual abuse lawsuit which was filed against him by Virginia Giuffre last year.
Buckingham Palace released a statement on Thursday, January 13th to confirm that Queen Elizabeth has approved the decision to strip her son of his affiliations and patronages. “With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” the statement read. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York: pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 13, 2022
The news comes after it was confirmed that Prince Andrew will now face a civil sex case trial, after US Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed a notion by his lawyers to have Giuffre’s civil case thrown out because she had previously signed a confidentiality settlement with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On Thursday January 13th, Giuffre took to social media to say that the judge’s decision showed that the “rich and powerful are not above the law.” She tweeted: “I’m pleased with Judge Kaplan’s ruling yesterday that allows my case against Prince Andrew to go forward. I do not walk this path alone, but alongside countless other survivors of sexual abuse & trafficking.”
According to Giuffre’s initial lawsuit, which was filed under the Child Victims Act in August 2021, Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly trafficked and abused her when she was just 17 years old (and therefore a minor) back in 2001, shortly after she started working at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. It then claims that Prince Andrew, a close friend of Epstein despite his denial of their relationship in that now infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, then allegedly sexually assaulted Giuffre three times.
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"During each of the aforementioned incidents, Plaintiff was compelled by express or implied threats by Epstein, Maxwell, and/or Prince Andrew to engage in sexual acts with Prince Andrew," Giuffre's lawsuit states, before going on to claim that Giuffre "feared death or physical injury to herself or another and other repercussions for disobeying Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew due to their powerful connections, wealth, and authority." The court filing goes on to say that Prince Andrew’s alleged "sexual assault and battery of Plaintiff have caused her, and continue to cause her, significant emotional and psychological distress and harm."
According to The Telegraph, a source close to Prince Andrew said that he would "continue to defend himself" against Giuffre’s allegations. "Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling," the source said. "However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon not a sprint and the Duke will continue to defend himself against these claims."
