Despite taking away his royal patronages and military affiliations amidst the sexual abuse scandal he is currently embroiled in, Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly let her son Prince Andrew keep one of his honorary military titles as some sort of kind gesture, because he is said to be “broken” about the state of his life.
According to reports, The Queen has let the 62-year-old royal keep the armed forces honorary title of Vice Admiral (which is the equivalent to an Army Lieutenant General) because he is in “such low spirits.” A source who served with him during the Falklands War told The Mirror: “He is down, he is broken. If he wants to dress up once in a while in a naval uniform, then let him. His reputation is in tatters, his public life is over. He is a walking embarrassment.”
The Duke of York was in the Royal Navy for 22 years, and served in the Falklands War as a helicopter pilot. "He was actually not a bad person when I knew him. He had a few entitlement issues but that is to be expected," the source continued. "Frankly, my view is let him keep the rank of Vice Admiral. It’s effectively the same as an honorary degree. He hasn’t been convicted of anything. I have no idea whether he is guilty or innocent, so I think he has paid quite a heavy price."
Prince Andrew recently reached a $12 million out-of-court settlement in his ongoing sexual assault case against Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Giuffre, now 38, claimed that she was groomed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his now jailed ex, Ghislaine Maxwell and allegedly forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times, the first of which being in 2001 when she was just 17 years old. Prince Andrew has always denied the allegations.
