With his mother and main supporter gone, is this the end of the royal road for disgraced Prince Andrew?
LONDON, ENGLAND: The answer lies between a yes and no. The 62-year-old Prince Andrew, who was second in line to the throne, behind his older brother, Prince Charles, but before his older sister Princess Anne, went to the ninth position in the order of succession, following the arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son Archie and their daughter Lilibet. But, after Queen Elizabeth died at age 96, he now stands at the eight position.
However, his civil sex assault case, stemming from his friendship with the convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein, makes it hard for The Firm to look the other way and let him return to public royal life, as per DailyMail.com. Describing Queen's relationship with Andrew, who was not invited to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, Royal author Phil Dampier told DailyMail that the Queen "was a bit like Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who had a blind spot about her son Mark. He could do no wrong in her eyes and the Queen was rather similar with Andrew."
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"When he was a baby he wasn't seen in public for months and rumours even circulated that there was something wrong with him. But it was just her protecting him and enjoying time with him, which she didn't have with Charles and Anne who were a decade older," the author said and added, "Andrew was known as the 'love child' because his birth marked a new era for the Queen having two children after a gap. There had also been rumours in the mid 1950s that all was not well with her marriage to Prince Phillip and so a new child scotched those."
Talking about the Queen's death, he said, "Andrew will be devastated by the Queen's death because he was always her favourite child. Although he was in disgrace because of his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, he still saw more of her in private than his siblings. Living at Royal Lodge just a short distance from Windsor Castle, he would see her on an almost daily basis. He supported her when she was more frail, and was always there for her in person or on the phone whenever she needed him. There was an unbreakable bond between them and she must have been devastated when his name was dragged through the mud. He only had himself to blame of course and it's difficult to feel sympathy for him, but as a mother she always supported him."
Civil sex assault case
In January 2022, Andrew was slapped with a civil sex assault case by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. He denied the allegations, but ended up giving Giuffre $14.5 million in an out-of-court settlement, as per NY Post. Following this, he had to give up his HRH title, 'His Royal Highness,' that distinguishes a person as “royal” over others. Andrew also had to give up his patronages and honorary military roles. After his mother's death, he has the much less forgiving King Charles III, his brother and his nephew, Prince William. Even though the family was united at the Queen's deathbed with Prince William driving his uncles Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and aunt Sophie in Range Rover to Balmoral, things may gradually change as time passes with Prince Andrew becoming more distanced from the "working royals". He will most likely continue to be kept away from public engagements and royal duties and might never return to public royal life again.