Queen cuts Andrew adrift: Duke of York is stripped of ALL his military titles and royal patronages, will no longer use HRH in official capacity and is told he will have to face sex assault lawsuit as a 'private citizen'
Prince Andrew was today stripped of his military titles and royal patronages by the Queen, who said he will have to face his sexual assault lawsuit as a 'private citizen'.
The Duke of York will no longer be allowed to use the styling 'HRH' in any capacity, signalling the royal family's attempt to distance itself from the ninth in line to the throne as he faces a humiliating trial in the US.
The move to shred his ties with the military is likely to be particularly painful for Andrew, a military veteran who served as a helicopter pilot for the Royal Navy during the Falklands War.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement this afternoon: '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.'
The Palace said previously that the duke's military appointments were in abeyance after he stepped down from public duties in 2019. But, prior to today, he still retained the roles, leaving eight British regiments in limbo more than two years on.
The duke is Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, one of the oldest and most emblematic regiments in the British Army.
His other British honorary military titles are: 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.
Prince Andrew (pictured left in military uniform) was today stripped of his military honours by the Queen (right)
Buckingham Palace said in a statement this afternoon, which read: 'With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen'
This afternoon's dramatic announcement follows an open letter written to the Queen by former servicemen describing their 'upset and anger' at Andrew retaining the titles, saying his position was 'untenable'.
A stern-faced Prince Andrew broke his cover in Windsor this morning following yesterday's bombshell court ruling which allowed the royal's accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre to proceed with her case against him.
The prince was seen sitting in the back of his £80,000 Range Rover while being driven from his home in Windsor Great Park, as reports suggested he could avoid a trial by using the sale of his £18million Swiss chalet to try to pay off Ms Giuffre with at least £10million of the proceeds.
Andrew has been urged to settle out of court 'for the sake of his mother', who celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this year, he could face difficulties given Ms Giuffre is said to be pushing for 'her day in court'.
Royal biographer Phil Dampier said: 'I think the only way out of this is for Prince Andrew to pay her off'.
MailOnline revealed this week that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, settled a £6.6 million debt with a French socialite, paving the way for him to sell his beloved ski chalet to fund his alleged sex abuse case.
Isabelle de Rouvre, 74, sold her house, Chalet Helora, to her then-friends Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2014 for £18million, would be paid for in instalments. But Ms de Rouvre claimed the Yorks failed to make the final instalment of £5m for the property in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Verbier - but this week the Yorks stumped up the cash, ending the legal battle and clearing the way for a sale.
With the chalet now on the market, the ninth in line to the throne will use up to £10million of the final sale price to settle with Ms Giuffre, according to The Sun, but without admission of liability to her claims she was forced to have sex with him three times when she was 17. He has repeatedly denied the claims.
Mark Stephens, an expert in constitutional law, has said that Andrew will need to find between £5million and £10million to offer Ms Giuffre and hope she spares him a trial.
He said: 'Judge Lewis Kaplan has thrown a reasoned judicial decision like a bomb into the middle and the heart of the royal family and threatens to provoke constitutional crisis as a consequence'.
He said the duke has 'no good options', adding: 'Essentially, I think he's either going to have to engage in the trial process or he's going to have to settle and that may well be his least worst option.' He added: 'There is a need to limit the damage. Andrew, I suspect will be stripped of his royal titles. A settlement of five or ten million is a good bet but Ms Giuffre may want her day in court.'
The Duke of York was pictured sitting in the back of a Range Rover this morning as he was being driven from his house in Windsor Great Park
The Duke of York will be digesting the implications of the judge's refusal to throw out his sex assault lawsuit
Today, reports suggested he could avoid a trial by using the sale of his £18million Swiss chalet to try to pay off Virginia Roberts Giuffre with at least £10million of the proceeds
Last night, Prince Andrew's lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic were locked in crisis talks after their motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts (pictured middle) was 'denied in all respects', meaning the case is now heading towards an unedifying trial this autumn
Andrew bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora, in the luxury Swiss resort of Verbier with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2014 for £16.6million. He is now believed to be selling it to fund the court case, or settle with Ms Giuffre
Prince Andrew is pictured in 2001 with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their children in Verbier, Switzerland. Ms Giuffre's lawyers admit they could call all of them to give evidence
The Duke of York has been urged to settle with his accuser 'for the sake of his mother' the Queen
The front page of a 46 page ruling from Judge Lewis A Kaplan that the Duke of York will face a civil sex case trial over allegations he sexually assaulted Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was 17
Prince Andrew is now facing the biggest gamble of his life after a judge in the US unequivocally rejected a bid to have his sex abuse case thrown out of court.
Last night, the royal's lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic were locked in crisis talks after their motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts was 'denied in all respects', meaning the case is now heading towards an unedifying trial this autumn.
The duke's team now have a stark choice, legal experts said. They can either take the risk to press ahead and attempt to clear his name by going in front of a jury, which means Andrew would face the humiliation of having to give public testimony against lurid allegations of rape and sexual assault on oath.
Or he could try to persuade Miss Roberts to accept a multi-million pound settlement in order to avoid further damaging the reputation of the monarchy – but have the stain of the proceedings remain with him forever.
However, her New York attorney David Boies last night indicated that his client was determined to go to trial, saying: 'She wants to achieve justice', but added that while she is determined to go to trial, 'settlement is always a possibility'.
99 out of 100 civil cases settle out of court in the United States.
Mr Boies added that his team will seek to 'depose between ten to 12 people', and admitted this could include Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie.
If he chooses not to settle, or if Ms Giuffre rejects any offers, Andrew faces a trial and being interviewed by her lawyers in a videotaped deposition in London that could be played in court, although the ninth in line to the throne cannot be forced to give evidence due to it being a civil suit in a different legal jurisdiction.
Additionally, he could simply ignore the case and let the court give a decision in his absence, although this would be likely to damage his reputation further.
One former US federal prosecutor said: 'This is a very, very bad day for Prince Andrew.'
Mitchell Epner told Sky News: 'There are only bad options in front of him and he has to decide which of these bad options is his best bad option.'
The pressure for Andrew to settle out of court and spare the Queen the ignominy of a sordid public trial was growing last night as he was warned he was in 'the last chance saloon with the towels over the taps'.
Andrew's £2,000-an-hour legal team were last night locked in talks amid the 'biggest constitutional crisis in living memory', and believe that the key could be his chalet in Verbier, according to The Sun.
There has been speculation that the Queen could be bankrolling the prince's case, but experts believe it would be considered a PR disaster if she paid his accuser to end claims against her second on.
Miss Roberts's lawyer Mr Boies hinted that a deal out of court could be reached, saying: 'I think Virginia is determined to go to trial, but settlement is always a possibility'.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, he added: 'There has been no suggestion of settlement discussions at this point. Prior to the time that we brought the case we reached out to Prince Andrew and to Prince Andrew's lawyers and suggested mediation as a possible way of avoiding litigation.
'There was no interest in that at that time whether that has changed or not, I think, we'll have to wait and see. A purely financial settlement is not anything that I think that she is interested in.'
Miss Roberts alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions in 2001, when she was 17, and he knew she was a trafficking victim.
She says she was offered up to the prince and other wealthy and powerful friends of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew strongly denies the claims.
Yesterday, New York judge Lewis Caplan dismissed the duke's application to have the case thrown out at an early stage. Andrew's legal team had attempted to persuade the judge that Miss Roberts – bringing the case under her married name of Giuffre – had waived her right to sue any other 'potential defendants' when she agreed a £370,000 ($500,000) pay-off with Epstein in 2009.
They believed the wording of the agreement, and a reference in her original lawsuit to being sexually exploited by 'royalty', meant that the prince was protected from litigation.
Although his judgment ran to 44 pages, the judge said his task was a simple one, 'to determine whether there are two or more reasonable interpretations' of the Epstein deal.
Miss Roberts alleges she was offered up to the prince and other wealthy and powerful friends of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew strongly denies the claims
Ghislaine Maxwell gives Jeffrey Epstein a foot massage on his private jet dubbed the 'Lolita Express' and said to have taken Virginia to London where she was allegedly forced to gave sex with Andrew
When he found the wording was 'ambiguous', and so open to challenge, he said it was for a jury, and not him, to decide on its meaning. But he added that, in his opinion, the agreement 'cannot be said' to have 'clearly and unambiguously' been intended to benefit the duke.
The judge made no finding on the allegations against Andrew.
His decision means the proceedings move quickly to 'discovery', the unveiling of witnesses and key evidence. It also means the prince is now set to be put through an uncomfortable grilling by Miss Roberts' attorneys, under oath and on video, about all aspects of his private life.
Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer representing nine of Epstein's victims, warned that her legal team would be entitled to 'ask any question they wanted to'.
The lawyer said: 'The court is opening up the case for discovery which includes deposition [interview under oath] of Prince Andrew. This is bad news for not just Andrew but his whole family. Anyone who is supporting… his alibi is potentially liable for a deposition.'
Andrew could, as a British citizen, simply to refuse to participate in the case further, but a default judgment and award for damages would likely be found against him.
Defamation and reputation legal expert Mark Stephens warned last night that the duke now finds himself 'in the last chance saloon with the towels over the taps'.
He said: 'He's got to settle. He's got to get out. Or he's a dead man walking. Judge Lewis Kaplan has thrown this judicial decision like a bomb at the heart of the Royal Family.'
Royal insiders told the Mail Buckingham Palace has no choice but to permanently cut Prince Andrew 'adrift'. They predicted the Queen will have to bar her son from official public appearances such as her Platinum Jubilee.
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