Queen Elizabeth has stripped her son Prince Andrew of all of his military titles and royal patronages today, saying that he will need to face his sexual assault lawsuit as a “private citizen.”
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement, according to Daily Mail. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
He will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.
A total of 152 military veterans had called on the Queen to strip Andrew of his military titles, saying that “were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post.”
This came just one day after a judge rejected Andrew’s attempt to have the sexual assault lawsuit against him thrown out. The lawsuit was filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the alleged former sex slave of the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who has claimed that she was forced to have sex with Andrew multiple times as an underage girl.
Full Story: Prince Andrew Loses Bid To Dismiss Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Andrew has been told that he should settle out of court “for the sake of his mother,” who is set to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this year. However, paying off Giuffre may be costly, as she has said that she wants “her day in court.”
A royal source close to Andrew said that he would “continue to defend himself” against the claims made by Giuffre.
“Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling,” the source said. “However, it was not a judgement 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.”
Mark Stephens, an expert in constitutional law, said that Andrew will need between £5million and £10million to pay off Giuffre and hopes that she lets him off without a trial.
“Judge Lewis Kaplan has thrown a reasoned judicial decision like a bomb into the middle and the heart of the royal family and threatens to provoke constitutional crisis as a consequence,” Stephens said, adding that Andrew “no good options.”
Related: Prince Andrew Gets Bad News From Judge After Trying To Dodge Epstein Victim’s Lawsuit
“Essentially, I think he’s either going to have to engage in the trial process or he’s going to have to settle and that may well be his least worst option,” he continued. “There is a need to limit the damage. Andrew, I suspect will be stripped of his royal titles. A settlement of five or ten million is a good bet but Ms Giuffre may want her day in court.”
Stripping Andrew of his titles had to have been an incredibly difficult for the Queen, especially since he’s been rumored to be her favorite child in the past. Please keep the monarch in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
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