Prince Andrew stripped of his military titles, patronages and his status as “Royal Highness”

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew Duke of York is no more. Or rather, he is now only Prince Andrew Duke of York. The Queen of the United Kingdom has announced that her son will no longer be able to use the title of Royal Highness and that he has also been stripped of all his military titles. He was notably Honorary Vice-Admiral since 2015. All the patronages of the one who has always been presented as the favorite son of Elizabeth II have also been returned, and will be redistributed to other members of the royal family.

In question, the Epstein affair, in which is mired the father of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Virginia Giuffre accuses him of sexual assault and his complaint has been ruled admissible in civil proceedings by a US court. According to the Guardian, the decision was made by mutual agreement between Prince Andrew and his mother, who could have opposed it, but did not.

Never returned

“With the approval and consent of the Queen, the military affiliations and royal patronages of the Duke of York have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue to hold no public office and defend this case as a private citizen, ”Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

Sources quoted by the British daily say that whatever happens in the civil lawsuit, the titles of the queen’s son will never be returned to him.

Virginia Giuffre, now 38, claims she was coerced into having sex with Prince Andrew when she was just 17. At the time, the queen’s son was very close to billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted last month of sex trafficking in minors.

Since being cited in the case, Prince Andrew has shown a chaotic defense, going so far as to say, in an interview with the BBC, that he has a disease that prevents him from sweating, to justify qu ‘he couldn’t be the one Virginia Giuffre is talking about since she evokes a person with heavy sweating. This interview caused an uproar in the kingdom and prompted Prince Andrew to retire.

Queen Elisabeth II, who seemed for the moment to want to protect her son, has obviously chosen the axis that she has set since her coronation: to preserve the monarchy, whatever the cost.