The Queen Slaps Prince Andrew With Severe Consequence Ahead Of Trial
Looks like Prince Andrew is no longer Queen Elizabeth's favorite son. Following his catastrophic and damning BBC interview from 2019, the Duke of York has since brought negative attention to the royal family and has tarnished his reputation. Refusing to condemn late friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew was publicly shamed for a "lack of empathy" for the financier's victims, per The Sun.
One of those alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, even filed a civil case against Andrew — claiming he sexually assaulted her while she was underage. The queen has reportedly been bankrolling her son's legal battles against Giuffre and will allegedly bail him out should Giuffre choose to settle, per The Telegraph (via Insider).
Despite Andrew's attempts to have Giuffre's case dismissed, ITV royal news editor Chris Ship revealed on January 12 that the Duke of York's case will indeed "face a civil sex case trial." Now, just one day after the breaking news, Queen Elizabeth has taken a drastic step against her embattled son.
Queen Elizabeth has stripped Prince Andrew of his war designations and royal titles
At one point in history, Prince Andrew was a noted war hero. Dubbed a "Falklands hero," per Express, Andrew served two full decades in the Royal Navy. He earned the unofficial title after witnessing devastating combat within the Falklands region at the hands of Argentinian war forces in 1982, and successfully guided his comrades back to safety.
However, on January 13, in light of his upcoming "civil sex case trial" against Virginia Giuffre, Queen Elizabeth has officially stripped Andrew of all military titles and royal patronages. "With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen," a statement from Buckingham Palace reads, per Variety. "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
Andrew will also no longer be referred to as His Royal Highness (HRH), the outlet notes. A spokesperson for the Duke of York told Variety, "Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling." They continued, "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."