England’s Queen Elizabeth II revoked Prince Andrew’s military titles and royal patronages on Thursday, a day after a federal judge rejected Andrew’s attempt to block a civil suit against him by alleged Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
“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 read. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
Multiple outlets reported that Andrew, whose formal title is the Duke of York, will cease using the descriptor “His Royal Highness.”
The move came just hours after a group of military veterans called for the Queen to remove Andrew’s military titles in an open letter. Buckingham Palace said it had no comment specifically on that letter on Thursday.
“Were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post,” the group of 150 veterans wrote. “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.”
Andrew, 61, is facing a civil suit in the U.S. from Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who claims Epstein trafficked her to Andrew when she was under the age of 18. Giuffre alleges that Andrew sexually abused her multiple times, which Andrew denies.
While Andrew attempted to block Giuffre’s suit, claiming he was exempted because of a 2009 settlement between Giuffre and Epstein, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that the suit could move forward.
Andrew announced in November 2019 that he would “step back” from public duties after attempting to refute Giuffre’s allegations in a BBC interview, which sparked even more backlash.
Source: National Review
