Reuters loses royal and military ties with Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom

Author: Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) – The royal family has severed ties with Prince Andrew’s military ties and royal patrons on Thursday and said he would not be known as “His Royal Highness” as Queen Elizabeth’s son is fighting a US lawsuit alleging sex. abuse.

Andrew, 61, Duke of York, was forced to step down from public office in 2019 for his involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the prince hoped to clear his name after a disastrous BBC television interview.

The move by the royal family on Thursday means it will now lose all royal connections.

“With the Queen’s approval and consent, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronage have been returned to the Queen,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

“The Duke of York will not continue to assume any public duty and he is defending this case as a private citizen.”

On Wednesday, Andrew’s attorneys did not persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit alleging that Virginia Giuffre was sexually abused as a teenager.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan said Giuffre, 38, had been beaten by Andrew and accused of deliberately causing him emotional distress while Epstein – a financier who killed himself in jail in August 2019, was awaiting trial for his sex trafficking trial.

The prince, the second son of the 95-year-old queen, has denied Giuffre’s accusation that he was forced to have sex more than two decades ago at the London home of former member of Ghislaine Maxwell Epstein, and that he abused Epstein’s two properties.

The court’s ruling means Andrew could be forced to testify in a trial that could begin between September and December 2022 if no solution is found.

‘A NON-SPRINT MARATHON’

“Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments with firmness, and we are not surprised by the verdict,” said a source close to Andrew.

“However, there was no trial 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.”

A Giuffre representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

His links with Andrew Epstein led to harmful media reports, and the prince decided to conduct a televised interview in November 2019, which he hoped would resolve the issue.

Instead, it brought more ridicule and questions, and as the controversy grew, Buckingham Palace moved further and further away from the prince, refusing to comment, and forwarding all questions to his lawyers.

“This is backed by the reputation of the royal family. This is likely to cause a great deal of popularity and is already happening; it is continuing around the world,” said BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

In the last month in the US, the conviction of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking and Epstein’s other charges of hiring and decorating underage girls, along with her case, ruined her reputation in the British media.

A royal source said the decision on Andrew came after a wide-ranging discussion between Windsor, and that his military affiliations and sponsorships would be shared with other family members.

Earlier, an open letter to the Queen, signed by more than 150 veterans, also called on Andrew to be stripped of his military title and “if necessary, leave him without disgrace,” published by the Republican anti-monarchy campaign team.

Elizabeth called for immediate action because her son’s relationship with Epstein was “nothing but uncooperative and untrue,” and the reputation of the armed services he represented was tarnished.

“Regardless of the outcome of the civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew Giuffre Andrew, his current position in the British Armed Forces is unbearable,” the veterans’ letter said.

The scandal over Andrew comes after the damage caused by Queen Harry’s granddaughter Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan after leaving the royal office to pursue a new career in Los Angeles, after which the royal house accused him of racism.

They too were stripped of all patronage, the titles of “His Royal Highness,” and Harry also lost his precious military role.