Queen strips Prince Andrew of military roles and royal patronages

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Move comes after more than 150 veterans request removal amid US sexual assault civil lawsuit



The Queen has removed a range of military affiliations and royal patronages held by Prince Andrew, Buckingham Palace has said. The move, which includes the prince losing the use of “His Royal Highness”, comes after a US judge gave the green light for her second son to face a sexual assault civil lawsuit.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military 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.”

A royal source said the prince would no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity.

The dramatic move comes hours after more than 150 military veterans wrote to the Queen to ask her to strip Andrew of his honorary military roles amid what they described as their “upset and anger”. The palace had said earlier on Thursday that it had no comment on their open letter.

Writing to her in her capacity as head of state and commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force, an open letter from former members of each of the services said that it was “untenable” for the Duke of York to retain his position.

“Were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post,” they say in the letter, sent the day after a Manhattan judge rejected Prince Andrew’s efforts to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him. The duke denies the allegations against him.

The palace had said previously that the duke’s military appointments were in abeyance after he stepped down from public duties in 2019.

But he still retained the roles, leaving eight British regiments, including the Grenadier Guards, where he had held the title of colonel, in limbo for more than two years.

His other British honorary military titles were: honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; commodore-in-chief of the Fleet Air Arm; royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers; deputy colonel-in-chief of the Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own) and royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The veterans say in their letter, which was partly coordinated by the campaign group Republic: “Officers of the British armed forces must adhere to the very highest standards of probity, honesty and honourable conduct.

“These are standards which Prince Andrew has fallen well short of. It is hard not to see, when senior officers are reportedly describing him as ‘toxic’, that he has brought the services he is associated with into disrepute.

“We are therefore asking that you take immediate steps to strip Prince Andrew of all his military ranks and titles and, if necessary, that he be dishonourably discharged.”

The letter concludes with a pointed and personal request to the Queen, who has long been reported to regard Andrew as her “favourite” son. It states: “We understand that he is your son, but we write to you in your capacity as head of state and as commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force. These steps could have been taken at any time in the past 11 years. Please do not leave it any longer.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan’s ruling means Andrew will remain embroiled in lengthy – and embarrassing – legal proceedings for the foreseeable future.

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Now, if she'll remove Blair's recent award...

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Prince Andrew settles Virginia Giuffre sexual assault case in US



Prince Andrew has reached a settlement in the civil sexual assault claim filed by Virginia Giuffre in the US, sparing him from the humiliation of a trial.

The unexpected development was disclosed in a document submitted to court on Tuesday. The Duke of York has agreed to make a “substantial donation” to a charity, and has accepted that Giuffre “suffered as an established victim of abuse”. He commended Giuffre’s bravery.

The document added that the prince also regretted his association with the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in prison while facing trial for sex crimes.

The move is a remarkable turnaround for the prince, who had promised to fight to clear his name in court. He has always denied having a sexual relationship with Giuffre when she was 17.

The court document said: “Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement. The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement [the sum of which is not being disclosed].

“Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.

“Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.

“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.

“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

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All-round regular good-guy!

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Queen to help pay for £12m Prince Andrew settlement



The Duke of York will pay his accuser more than £12 million using money from the Queen, The Telegraph can disclose.

It was announced on Tuesday that Prince Andrew, 61, had reached an out of court settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, meaning he will no longer face a jury trial on claims that he sexually abused and raped her on three separate occasions when she was 17.

The terms of the deal prevent either side from discussing the case or the settlement itself in public.

However, The Telegraph understands the total amount that will go to Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and her charity exceeds £12 million.

The Queen has already privately funded the Duke's legal fight to the tune of millions of pounds and will now partly fund the settlement in order to allow her son – and the entire Royal family – to draw a line under the case that had threatened to overshadow her Platinum Jubilee year.

Negotiations over the settlement are understood to have lasted for at least 10 days, with the Duke's team changing tack when the date for his deposition – which would have seen him questioned under oath by Ms Giuffre's legal team – was set for March 10.

Judge Lewis Kaplan later issued an order suspending the legal action until March 17. He said: "In the event the stipulation of dismissal is not filed by then, it remains entirely possible that this action will be set for trial when previously indicated."

The deal was agreed at the weekend, the Telegraph understands.

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Charities' concerns over prince's offer to support victims



Charities working with survivors of abuse say they have "significant concerns" about the Duke of York's offer to support trafficking victims.

Prince Andrew made the pledge after settling the US civil sexual assault case brought by Virginia Giuffre, and agreeing to pay her an undisclosed sum.

He made no admission of liability and has always denied the allegations.

Labour MP Jess Phillips has expressed doubt Andrew could play a constructive role in combating trafficking.

"Those who work in sexual violence [and] human trafficking services are certainly not going to have open arms to his allyship... even if it was just finances," she said.

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac), said the trust that survivors place in the charity underpins how it carries out its work.

"Napac acknowledges and is grateful to the many generous fundraisers and donors who are survivors or supporters of survivors themselves," she added.

"With this trust being core to Napac's approach, any support for the charity that Prince Andrew may offer would raise significant concerns as to the ethical implications of accepting money or patronage from an individual who is a suspected perpetrator and who had ties to a convicted offender."

Beyond the Streets, a charity working to end sexual exploitation, said it was unlikely it would accept any support offered by Andrew.

"We think the priority of organisations who support women who have been exploited should be on their beneficiaries and not on the profile and activities of those who support them," a spokesperson said.

"This is particularly important in situations such as this where it could be perceived that there is a benefit to the potential supporter and there have been serious accusations involved."

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Idea of Prince Andrew supporting trafficking victims ‘ridiculous’ says Jess Phillips



Prince Andrew will not be welcome in any role supporting victims of sex trafficking and shows a sense of entitlement in thinking he has something to offer, according to the Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Phillips, a former Labour leadership contender who campaigns for women’s rights, said the idea that Prince Andrew could help support victims of trafficking was “ridiculous” after he came to a multimillion-pound civil settlement with Virgina Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her on three occasions when she was 17, which he denied.

In a joint statement on the settlement, Prince Andrew had pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with the sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein, by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.

But Phillips said this was inappropriate, even aside from Giuffre’s allegations, given some of his lawyers’s arguments during the case.

“His response to the case throughout broke every myth and stereotype, from slut shaming to referring to [Giuffre] wanting a payday,” Phillips said.

“The behaviour that has been displayed throughout the last four years does not speak to somebody who could be an ally to victims of sexual violence.”

Phillips also said it was not the responsibility of campaigners and charities working to end violence against women “to offer any redemption”.

“We’ve got a lot on without rehabilitating princes,” she said.

Phillips said the statement had almost certainly had to be agreed with Giuffre’s lawyers but the reality of his words were that they “speak of entitlement”.

“What exactly has Prince Andrew got to offer victims of sexual violence? Does he have any skills? I heard, in genuinely good faith, people working with military charities saying he would turn up to things and have something to contribute. But – even without the accusations against him, unproven as they may be – why do they think we need his help like a white knight on a horse? I can’t see him being welcome.”

Many in the sector suggested charities would prefer not to have a public association with the prince and questioned whether it was appropriate for him to offer.

Jayne Butler, the chief executive of Rape Crisis England & Wales, said offers to support victims and survivors of abuse “do feel cynical when Prince Andrew’s legal team demonstrated so much disrespect for Ms Giuffre and a complete disregard for how their victim-blaming actions would affect other victims and survivors”.

“We would suggest that Prince Andrew instead considers looking into supporting prevention work aimed at perpetrators, rather than suggesting he is in any way placed to support victims,” she added.