Andrew loses Prince title as Virginia Giuffre case haunts palace: What next for disgraced royal
British royal experts say Andrew’s scandals have caused more damage to the monarchy than the 1936 abdication crisis, as King Charles finally acts. See what his future holds.
The long shadow of scandal that has followed Prince Andrew for years finally became too heavy a burden for the Crown to bear – and King Charles III made his move.
It wasn’t the noise of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure, but the years of toxic exposure that forced the Royal Family’s hand.
British biographer Andrew Lownie said the former Duke of York’s close ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his links with a Chinese spy, and serious allegations of misconduct in public office have proven far more damaging than the harm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused before they moved to the US.
Mr Lownie called it the biggest scandal to engulf the Royal Family in the past century.
None of this reckoning would have been possible without the tragic and tenacious figure of Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre, who accused Andrew of allegedly sexually assaulting her as a teenager, fought the powerful prince for years, forcing him into a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2022.
Though she died by suicide in April of this year, her family hailed his downfall as a victory from the grave.
“Today an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.
“Today, she declares victory,” Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts and sister-in-law Amanda said.
The 65-year-old who is eighth in line to the throne, will vacate his lavish multimillion dollar mansion and move to a private residence on the Sandringham Estate. This exile comes after his close relationship with deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed – Andrew previously claimed he had ceased ties with Epstein but this was proved to be untrue.
In an exclusive interview with This Masthead at his Westminster home in central London, Mr Lownie said the 65-year-old former prince has caused the royals catastrophic harm.
He believes Andrew’s persistent scandals – including his ties with Epstein, links with a Chinese spy, and allegations of misconduct in public office – have proven far more damaging than the harm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused before they moved to the US.
The days of bad headlines for ‘Randy Andy’, the prince with the ‘Robert Redford looks’ and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite son are certainly not over just yet.
“He’s very stupid, he’s so stupid he doesn’t realise how stupid he is,” Mr Lownie told This Masthead.
“He’s entitled, he’s greedy and he thinks that the rules don’t apply to him and that’s all the way through his life … he’s been allowed to get away with it”.
Mr Lownie, author of the 456-page book, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” which was published in August, spent four years investigating the highs and lows of Andrew’s life and his close ties with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who remains a big part of his life.
Mr Lownie said the younger brother to The King should be held to account, including many allegations of inappropriate conduct that he could not publish in his book.
“What I’m calling for is an investigation into Andrew and his time as a trade envoy because I do think ambassadors and politicians should, on oath, actually start to explain what they knew was going on,” Mr Lownie said.
“Reports were going on to them about the prostitutes and the bribes and everything else, there was lots of it I couldn’t put in the book for legal reasons and they did nothing, they’ve covered it up.
“I think now they should examine their consciences and say, ‘OK, we know we were protecting him, there is a higher loyalty to the Crown’.”
In his book Mr Lownie delved into serious concerns relating to Andrew’s business dealings including as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011.
“The double standards … people in this country are going to prison for tweeting and here is a man with a whole litany of sins,” Mr Lownie said.
“I think there will be riots in the streets if people feel that he is not going to face justice.
“I think there’s a very strong case against him and charges relating to sex trafficking and misconduct in public office must be brought and if he is convicted he must go to prison.
“That is the only thing that will restore public confidence in the monarchy”.
Claims also emerged this week that Prince William gave his cousins – Andrew’s two daughters Princesses Eugenie, 35, and Beatrice, 37 – an ultimatum to get their father to move out of the multimillion estate or face the consequences.
The pair will keep their titles as princesses despite their father no longer being referred to as prince’.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond told Sky News UK Prince William “will be relieved” the King has finally taken action and Andrew will move out of Royal Lodge.
Mr Lownie said the scandals surrounding Andrew have significantly harmed the reputation of the royal family, more so than the constitutional crisis in 1936 when Edward VIII declared he would marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson and renounce the throne.
Edward VIII was one of the shortest-reigning British monarchs and was on the throne for just 326 days.
“I think it’s worse now than 1936 because the abdication was sorted out quite quickly and Edward VIII went into exile, the new King came in and it was business as usual,” Mr Lownie said.
“It was a crisis for a period of months whereas this thing here has been going for years and it hasn’t been addressed.
“They pushed through the abdication legislation in a matter of hours in 1936, so to say that it’s too complicated to take away his (Prince Andrew’s) titles and all the other things – it’s absolute rubbish.
“If the palace and the parliament want to do it, each of them can do it, the legislation can be brought in quickly”.
And who could forget Andrew’s trainwreck interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Matilis in 2019 about his friendship with Epstein and claims the photo with a young Virginia Giuffre was fake – she said he was sweating all over here at a nightclub in 2001 but he said he during the interview that he has a medical condition which means he cannot sweat.
Mr Lownie listed many scandals where royal family members had been charged with crimes or stripped of their titles and said being royal should not be a barrier to be held to account.
Damning allegations were also published last week in the UK, claiming Andrew abused his position of power as the Duke of York and made attempts to involve the Metropolitan Police and senior royal aides to dig up dirt on Giuffre.
The 41-year-old woman accused Prince Andrew of assaulting her as a teenager – she committed suicide in April this year, just six months before the release of her book, “Nobody’s Girl” in October.
In it she said Andrew, “believed having sex with me was his birthright”.
Giuffre also said she was sexually exploited by Epstein whom she had met through Ghislaine Maxwell who remains behind bars in Texas for 20 years for sex trafficking.
The criticisms of Andrew’s sense of entitlement and ability to relate to people were also highlighted by many who dealt with him during his role as trade envoy.
In the book, one former ambassador in the Middle East said Prince Andrew “invaded one’s personal space, would rant and was unable to read a room”.
“He behaved like a teenager, boasting he could connect easily to Bill Gates”.
While another ambassador in Central Asia told Mr Lownie in the book that the royal was “arrogant, cantankerous, shouty and with a tendency to badmouth diplomats, saying they were up themselves”.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ANDREW’S WEALTH AND FUTURE
WHAT TITLES IS ANDREW LOSING?
The titles being stripped are: Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh. And he will no longer have the right to be called His Royal Highness. The honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order will also be removed.
To remove the titles, the King will send Royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor – who is David Lammy – to officially remove them.
HOW RICH IS PRINCE ANDREW?
Andrew’s worth is unclear.
It is believed his property assets, business dealings and private funding play a significant role in maintaining his royal lifestyle.
“Apparently, many businesses connected to Andrew and [his ex-wife] Sarah have been profiled and promoted at Royal Lodge over the years,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital.
“ … But where does his money come from? That is the million-dollar question.”
“There are very wealthy individuals who support Andrew, especially where millions, to them, are like pocket change,” Turner claimed.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital that Andrew’s only declared source of income is the pension he receives from his days in the Royal Navy between 1979 and 2001. The amount is reported to be £20,000, or about $40,000 a year.
DOES SARAH FERGUSON STILL LIVE WITH ANDREW?
Yes, despite being divorced, Andrew and Ferguson have lived at the Royal Lodge together.
Andrew has not paid rent for two decades on his Royal Lodge home after contributing £8.5 million ($A17m) to refurbishments having taken over the lease in 2003.
The arrangement stems from a seemingly favourable deal for the mansion owned by the Crown Estate, the royal family’s independently run land and property holdings.
From hereon, Ferguson will be responsible for making her own living arrangements.
It’s unclear where she will move to and if she will continue to live with her ex-husband.
WHERE WILL ANDREW LIVE NOW?
The BBC has reported that Andrew will move to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk County once he vacates the Royal Lodge.
The country house is privately owned by King Charles and it has been reported that the monarch will fund his stay at the estate.
The house stands in a 20,000-acre estate, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and takes about three hours to reach from London.
WHAT IS ANDREW’S RELATIONSHIP TO EPSTEIN AND DONALD TRUMP?
Andrew reportedly first met Epstein in 1999 through the late multi-millionaire’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
In 2008, Epstein was convicted in the United States of procuring a minor for prostitution and handed an 18-month jail sentence.
Despite this, the pair were photographed in 2010 walking through Central Park in New York together.
Andrew claimed this was the end of their friendship.
But an email to Epstein in February 2011 “from a member of the British royal family” believed to be Andrew said: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon !!!!”, according to UK court documents revealed earlier this year.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.
In terms of Donald Trump, the US president said he didn’t know Andrew when asked in November 2019 after the royal’s disastrous BBC interview about links to Epstein.
The US president made the comments despite meeting the embattled royal as recently as June that year.
CAN ANDREW BE SUED, CHARGED, JAILED LIKE A COMMON PERSON?
UK campaign group Republic have taken the unusual step of instructing their lawyers to commence investigations with a view to launching a private prosecution against Andrew.
In the UK, individuals can choose to pay out of their own pockets to prosecute a criminal case if there appears to be sufficient evidence and the authorities are not acting.
Such prosecutions are rare and launching such a case against a member of the royal family is unheard of.
In a statement on their website, Republic asked for donations to fund their legal fights to pursue Andrew on charges of “sexual assault, corruption and misconduct in public office.”
Republic’s CEO, Graham Smith said the decision to pursue a private prosecution came after their calls for the authorities to do so went unheeded.
“If not us, then who? It’s a devastating indictment on the UK’s criminal justice system, police and politicians – not to mention the king and heir – that we must resort to a private prosecution,” Mr Smith said.
“It should be a cause for concern that so many people believe – rightly in my view – that the royals are not treated equally in law. Equality in law is a basic tenet of democracy.
“I firmly believe there is strong enough evidence to justify a serious investigation. The authorities and politicians appear to want to look the other way, while minimising the accusations made against Andrew.”
“The truth must prevail and justice must be seen to be done.”
It has been more than 20 years since a member of the royal family faced a criminal investigation. Princess Anne was charged with an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act in 2002, after her dog bit two children in Windsor Great Park. She was fined £500 ($A1003), ordered to pay compensation to the boys, and had to pay court costs.
COULD ANDREW EVER BE PROSECUTED OVER HIS LINKS TO EPSTEIN?
The Met Police has looked into allegations relating to Andrew and Epstein’s activities in London three times, and opted not to investigate.
Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, said this month that if the Met refused to act, police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) should review the decision.
Meanwhile, the Met this month confirmed they are “actively looking” into fresh allegations that Andrew tried to use his police bodyguard to smear his Giuffre. The Daily Mail claimed the prince passed on Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his state-funded police protection in 2011 and asked him to investigate.
According to legal experts, the allegations could also prompt a criminal investigation in the US. Under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, individuals who knowingly use, transfer, or possess another person’s Social Security Number with the intent to commit an illegal act can face a fine or a prison term in the most serious cases.
Spencer Kuvin, who represented nine victims of Epstein, told The UK Telegraph: “Penalties for this crime are very severe and can be up to 15 years in prison.”
Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Peter Kyle has urged Andrew to co-operate with the US authorities and give evidence about Epstein’s crimes.
“I believe that Andrew, in the past, has said that he would co-operate, and I urge him to stick to his word on that,” Mr Kyle told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
IS ANDREW STILL PAID BY THE ROYAL FAMILY?
Since 2019, when he ceased to be a working royal after a disastrous BBC interview over the Epstein allegations, Andrew no longer receives any public funding under the Sovereign Grant Act 2011.
The sovereign grant is the annual payment from the British government to the monarch to fund their official duties and maintain royal palaces.
Prior to the sovereign grant, the monarchy was funded through the civil list – an annual sum of money voted by parliament, which included the annuities received by other members of the royal family.
The total Sovereign Grant for 2024-25 remained level at £86.3 million for the fourth consecutive year,
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN ANDREW WAS SUED?
In August 2021, Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew, alleging he sexually assaulted her three times, including twice when she was 17.
A letter filed to a US court in February 2022 jointly by Giuffre and Andrew’s lawyers revealed they had reached an out-of-court settlement to end her civil case against him.
Andrew – who made no admission of liability – agreed to pay her an undisclosed sum.
The exact amount has not been revealed, but was reportedly at around £12 million ($A24m). Queen Elizabeth reportedly contributed £2 million ($A4m) towards the settlement.
WHAT DOES VIRGINIA GIUFFRE’S BOOK CLAIM ABOUT ANDREW?
In her memoir “Nobody’s Girl” published earlier this month, Giuffre said she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three separate occasions, having been trafficked by Epstein.
On the first occasion in March 2001, the then 41-year-old Andrew had sex with her at Maxwell’s mews house in London.
Andrew was asked to guess her age. When he correctly suggested she was 17, he explained his accuracy by saying that “my daughters are just a little younger than you”, Giuffre recalled in her memoir.
The second encounter was the following month at Epstein’s “garish” townhouse in New York.
The last time was on Epstein’s private island as part of what she described as an “orgy” with Andrew, Epstein and around eight other girls who “all appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English”.
WILL ANDREW HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH THE ROYALS FROM NOW ON?
He is already not invited to attend royal public events., and his recent appearances have been limited to private, family events, such as funerals or memorials.
Royal expert and former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said “I can’t see … how the family will ever welcome him back to events”.
She described the announcement as “uncharted territory” and added “maybe in the fullness of time he will be invited to join the family for very, very private gatherings such as Christmas”.
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Originally published as Andrew loses Prince title as Virginia Giuffre case haunts palace: What next for disgraced royal
