The Duke of York stripped of titles as court case against him proceeds.
Prince Andrew has had his military affiliations, and royal patronages revoked amidst the ongoing sexual assault case against him from Virginia Giuffre.
In a statement released to the Royal Family’s Twitter account on Thursday, it was announced that Prince Andrew would be “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 statement reads: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s 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.”
Giuffre alleges that the Duke of York trafficked her to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, where she suffered abuse. The Prince has denied all such claims.
Through a 2009 document made public last week, it was revealed that Virginia Giuffre settled with Jeffrey Epstein for $500k (£371,000) while also agreeing not to sue any other “potential defendant”. While Prince Andrew’s legal team were hoping to use this document to discredit further legal proceedings, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in favour of Giuffre.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that both Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie allegedly “fully support” Prince Andrew.
A source told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s more about them being there for him and supporting him as opposed to questioning him about the case.
“That’s not what the family is focused on – it’s about survival, protecting the family name and getting through it in one piece. The girls feel their father’s name is continually dragged through the mud unnecessarily, when really he is a good egg.”
They continued: “They feel the whole thing is an unfortunate business and they don’t believe their father deserves what is happening to him.”
Apparently, both sisters were “very upset” that their father was unable to join them on the ski trip as they hoped “their children would be able to spend their first ski holiday with their grandad and the entire family”.
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