DUMPED DUKE! Prince Andrew may have to drop royal title if he loses Virginia Roberts suit
There are discussions going on among royal courtiers regarding the future of Prince Andrew. Speculations are there that the 61-year-old will be stripped of the Duke of York title if he loses Virginia Roberts sexual assault lawsuit. Besides, Andrew will also have to go into “internet exile” and give up the connections he still has to charities.
This comes as Roberts filed a suit against Andrew accusing him of sexually abusing her thrice when she was just 17. The father-of-two is not involved in public duties since November 2019 “for the foreseeable future” over his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. An insider said, “If [Prince Andrew] loses the case, the question is what do you do with him? You can't make him resign like you would a normal person but he would be asked to put his dukedom into abeyance.”
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Besides, royal insiders believe that the Queen won’t get ready easily for stripping Andrew of his royal title because “it was held by her father, George VI, before he became king and she bestowed it on her favorite son. But he has disgraced that title,” the Sunday Times reported. A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace commented on the speculations regarding the title loss by saying: “This is speculation and the comments are without foundation. We would not comment on an ongoing legal matter.”
Meanwhile, another report stated that Andrew has been pressured to leave his nine military roles. Those tasks include Vice-Admiral - Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen, Colonel - Grenadier Guards, Colonel-in-Chief - 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales'), Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment), Small Arms School Corps and Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot), Royal Colonel - Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, Honorary Air Commodore - Royal Air Force Lossiemouth and Commodore-in-Chief - Fleet Air Arm.
The Sunday People reported that top army chiefs “are hoping he will resign so the Queen is not forced to strip him of his honorary titles.” Top brass has also reportedly deemed the prince “toxic” because of his links with Epstein and his convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell. A source even said, “Even if Andrew is completely exonerated from any wrongdoing he is now regarded as toxic. It is expected he will do the decent thing and resign.”
This comes as the Duchess of York was seen with her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie and their husbands Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank. The family was seen walking in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Andrew’s family looked happy despite growing concerns after Maxwell’s conviction.
The daughter of Robert Maxwell was found guilty of a number of recruiting and grooming young women and underage girls for Epstein for several years. In a statement, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said after the verdict: “The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done. I want to commend the bravery of the girls — now grown women — who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today’s result, possible.”