Prince Andrew ‘will never return to royal duties’
Prince Charles reportedly sees “no way back” into public life for Prince Andrew amid fears his legal battle will do lasting damage to the monarchy.
Prince Charles can’t see a way that Prince Andrew will be allowed back into the public life, fearing his legal battle with Virginia Roberts Giuffre will do lasting damage to the monarchy.
The Duke of York, 61, is said to be having crisis talks with lawyers by phone after joining the Queen at Balmoral supported by daughter Eugenie.
Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit says she was “forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will” and lists offences including “rape in the first degree”.
Experts say the case could rumble on for two years - potentially overshadowing the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year - and cost the Duke millions.
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Last night, Charles was reported to believe that even if the civil case against his brother fails, it is still a reminder of Andrew’s links to disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein.
The Prince of Wales, 72, is said to be “furious” with his brother as he attempts to protect the monarchy from another scandal.
A source close to Charles told The Times: “The prince loves his brother and has the ability to have sympathy for the slings and arrows that his brother endures, whatever the reasons may be.
“His ability to support and feel for those having a tough time is well known.
“However, this will be unwelcome reputational damage to the institution. He has long ago concluded that it is probably an unsolvable problem.
“This will probably further strengthen in the prince’s mind that a way back for the duke is demonstrably not possible, because the spectre of this accusation raises its head with hideous regularity.”
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Charles and Prince William are also both reportedly concerned about how the case is being handled by Andrew’s legal team.
They are said to share growing frustration at the tactics of silence from the Duke since the lawsuit was filed in New York on Monday.
A royal insider told the Daily Mail: “The family find themselves in an extraordinarily difficult and sensitive situation given the nature of the allegations.
“They are limited in what they can say publicly and now that the Duke of York is no longer a working royal they are actually rather limited in what control they can exert over the situation privately.”
The Duke of York stepped back from all of his 230 charity patronages in 2019, with Buckingham Palace indicating that he hoped to return to his public roles at some point.
Following the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, it was claimed that Andrew was preparing for his return as recently as February this year.
In May this year it was reported that almost 50 organisations had quietly or publicly removed Andrew as patron.
But Buckingham Palace still lists dozens of organisations that he is supposedly the patron for.
The shock comments from his brother come after reports that Andrew may also lose his HRH titles over the lawsuit.
Legal experts have suggested that Andrew could be sued for tens of millions if Ms Giuffre wins her civil case in the US.
She has accused the royal of “rape in the first degree”, and has not put a figure on the amount of compensation that she is seeking for the “significant” emotional and psychological stress.
David Boies, her lawyer, told The Telegraph: “Both categories of damages will be substantial. [A person’s declared wealth] does come into consideration with respect to punitive damages.”
A royal finance expert explained that Prince Andrew’s wealth has been a mystery, that could cause US authorities an issue when trying to come to an agreement.
David McClure, author of The Queen’s True Worth, said: “Prince Andrew’s finances are shrouded in a pea soup of impenetrability.
“This is symbolised by the fact that no one knows how he was able to get a mortgage for some $24 million to buy a luxury ski chalet in Verbier in 2014.
“He has an affluent lifestyle, but where does the money come from? He has no discernible income.”
The Duke and Duchess of York are both being sued by the previous owned of their luxury Swiss ski chalet, Isabelle de Rouvre, who claims they owe her $12million.
The couple have put the property on the market for $32.5million after buying it for about $33 million in 2014.
David Rowland, the financier said to co-own an offshore fund in the British Virgin Islands tax haven with the Duke, reportedly paid $75,000 to help clear the Duchess of York’s debts in 2010.
Prince Andrew could be forced to fork out up to $26-135million in damages, according to a top London lawyer who has represented victims of sexual harassment related to #MeToo movement.
Mark Stephens, of the London law firm Howard Kennedy, said: “It could, on appeal, be lowered to something like $39-67 million, but in the first instance, it would be a very big number indeed.
“Andrew could, of course, ignore the proceedings altogether and the judgment would be a default one. The US cannot compel him to pay the damages. The UK only recognises judgments in foreign hearings if they are contested.
“The only thing the US court could do in this instance is to execute the decision against his assets in the US, should he have any.
“I think this is likely how it will play out, unless the Queen or the UK Government decides to intercede. He is able to shelter behind the palace walls.”
David McClure added that if the Duke were to find himself in financial problems then the Queen may take it upon herself to offer him help.
He said: “It would be very surprising if the Duke does not have his own private investments or offshore trusts but I suspect that the Queen does subsidise some of his outgoings.
“Judging by the fact that the Queen is known to bankroll less well-off members of her family, it’s logical to assume that if he was short of funds and had a big outlay in terms of legal bills that she would help.
“She gets more than $41 million a year from the Duchy of Lancaster, she is not short of cash.
“There’s a split between her guardianship of the Royal family and its reputation and her love for her son. She must be torn.”
Ms Giurffe’s legal team have also claimed that they were preparing to present fresh evidence which would help their case.
David Boies, told The Telegraph: “I think you will see additional evidence, for example, you’ve heard some testimony about other girls who saw Andrew with Virginia, and there will be additional testimony about that from the same woman, but from some other women too.”
It is understood that he is referring to Johanna Sjoberg, who is the only other woman to come forward publicly to accuse the Duke.
Ms Sjoberg accused the Duke of groping her by taking a Spitting Image puppet of himself and placing its hand on her breast in London in 2001.
She also claims that Epstein ordered her to “entertain” the prince, and that in mid-1999, she and Ms Giuffre accompanied Epstein to visit Prince Andrew at Balmoral.
Ms Sjoberg, 41, has previously expressed a willingness to testify to US authorities about the alleged abuse.
Andrew has fiercely denied any allegations, says he has no memory of even meeting alleged victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, and he had no suspicions of Epstein’s wrongdoing during their friendship.
He is facing fresh scrutiny however as Giuffre’s lawyers filed a lawsuit with a New York court claiming she was “lent out for sexual purposes” and “compelled” to have sex with Andrew.
She also claimed the Duke was aware she was 17 and knew she had been “trafficked” - claiming she was abused by him three times in London, New York and on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.
The Duke is currently hunkered down at Balmoral Castle for the summer along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and his mum, The Queen.
Fergie’s presence is expected to sooth things as well as she makes her first visit to Balmoral in 25 years, with the Duchess being 100 per cent behind Andrew.
The monarch and her son had dinner together last night just hours after he was served US summons.
Andrew faces civil litigation with the 15-page suit for the first time after he allegedly abused Ms Giuffre when she was 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house in London.
Maxwell and Epstein are alleged to have run a global sex trafficking ring of young and underage girls who they lured in using their wealth and power before offering them to their pals.
Her legal team argue she was a “frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her” when she was allegedly abused by Andrew, saying “no person, whether President or Prince, is above the law”.
It is believed that the Duke of York will not be able to invoke the special royal diplomatic immunity which is enjoyed by his mum, The Queen.
Members of the immediate royal household are considered immune - but Andrew is not believed to be included in this bracket, especially after he stepped back from his duties.
Ms Giuffre’s lawyers claim that they have made multiple attempts to contact the Duke and his legal team but have been ignored.
According to her lawyer the latest letter sent to Prince Andrew was sent last month, and warned that a lawsuit could be filed.
Espstein hanged himself in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking offences.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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