Britain’s Prince Andrew has been stripped of his military titles and charities, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday, a day after a judge ruled that a sexual abuse civil lawsuit against him could proceed.
Andrew will also no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity, a royal source told CNN on Thursday. The source said the decision was “widely discussed” among the royal family.
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen,” the palace said in a statement.
The royal source also told CNN that “all of the Duke’s roles have been handed back to the Queen with immediate effect for redistribution to other members of the Royal Family. For clarity, they will not return to The Duke of York.”
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Virginia Giuffre claims Prince Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with the royal on three occasions when she was 17.
The Duke of York vehemently denies the allegations.
The allegations against Andrew — along with his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Epstein — had already tarnished the prince’s reputation.
But the prospect of a public trial that would attract global attention could put Andrew — the third child (and reportedly the favorite son) of Queen Elizabeth II – in an unprecedented situation for a senior British royal.
Andrew had, in 2019, stepped away from his public duties as a result of allegations and the backlash over his initial response.
Aside from the days following the death of his father, Prince Philip, in early 2021, he has rarely appeared in public since. He was even absent from publicly released photographs of his elder daughter Beatrice’s wedding in 2020.
The scandal has wider implications for the royal family, which was simultaneously forced to weather criticism over Andrew’s case and claims of racism from Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex over the past year. Buckingham Palace later described the claims as “concerning.”
If Prince Andrew wishes to settle, he must first ensure he has the finances to do so on top of his spiralling legal bills.
The Mirror revealed the Queen “would not assist” in any further financial settlement to Ms Giuffre over the sex allegations.
A source said Andrew is meeting all the costs himself and if there was the potential to settle, “it is in no doubt that the Queen would not assist him in doing so.”
The Duke, who lives at the Queen’s Royal Lodge in Berkshire, is currently in the process of selling his £17 million Swiss chalet.
