Queen Delivers a Royal Rebuke to Prince Andrew

He is stripped of military duties and patronages
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 13, 2022 11:53 AM CST
Queen Strips Prince Andrew of Military Duties
Britain's Prince Andrew is photographed on Aug. 11, 2021.   (Neil Hall/PA via AP, File)

As a sexual assault case against Prince Andrew continues, so do the ramifications: He has been stripped of his military duties and charity work, reports CNN. Buckingham Palace said Thursday that Andrew's military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to Queen Elizabeth II with her “approval and agreement," per the AP. The palace statement came after more than 150 navy and army veterans wrote to the queen asking her to strip Andrew of all his military ranks and titles amid continued legal trouble for the prince.

“With the queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen," said the palace statement. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.” A US district judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a civil case against Andrew by an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, who alleges that he sexually abused her when she was 17.

District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected an argument by Andrew’s lawyers that Giuffre’s lawsuit should be thrown out at an early stage because of an old legal settlement she had with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier she claims set up sexual encounters with the prince. He stressed that he wasn’t ruling on the truth of the allegations. Andrew's lawyers have said that Andrew never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre and that he “unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations against him.” (More Prince Andrew stories.)

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