The fall of the favorite son: how the royal family sidelined Prince Andrew after the Epstein scandal

12 million pounds (14.4 million euros).

This is the amount that Prince Andrew will have to pay to Virginia Giuffre.

The Duke of York and the 30-year-old American, who accuses him of having sexually assaulted her when she was 17 after they met through billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, thus reached a financial agreement, unveiled on Tuesday, February 15.

The youngest son of Elizabeth II will settle these damages thanks to a family loan, granted by the sovereign and Prince Charles, the

recently revealed .

The father of princesses Beatrice and Eugenie therefore escapes a civil trial.

But for Prince Andrew, nothing will ever be the same.

"This agreement was the only way for him to get out of it," said royal biographer Ingrid Seward.

Nevertheless, it's the end for Andrew.

I don't see him becoming an activist alongside victims of sexual abuse.

He must now go to ground."

The Duke of York's legal troubles have embarrassed the Crown too much.

So much so that some of the Windsors would have argued in favor of his ouster.

Read alsoFinancial agreement between Prince Andrew and his accuser: will Elizabeth II pay the bill?

"Leaving the road"

“The collective view was that Andrew was hurting the whole family,” an anonymous source told The

on January 14.

During the 2021 Christmas holidays, Prince Charles realizes that his younger brother, under the threat of a civil lawsuit, is in the middle of “going off the road”.

He expressed his concerns to his eldest son, Prince William, then on holiday in Norfolk, and consulted his brother and sister, Edward and Anne, on the subject.

The objective of these meetings?

Fixing the “Andrew problem”.

After several meetings - including one in the presence of the principal concerned -, the verdict falls: the Duke of York will have to be stripped of his military titles and his patronages, under penalty of tarnishing the image of royalty.

A request made in turn by 150 British veterans.

Elizabeth II no longer has a choice: Her Majesty admits, "with a heavy heart", that her "favorite son" must be ousted.

Surrender

Princess Anne and Prince Edward agree to play the ominous birds.

At the beginning of January, the duo therefore went to the Royal Lodge, the former residence of the Queen Mother in Windsor, where the Duke of York currently lives.

His daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, as well as his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, with whom he cohabits, are absent subscribers.

Mother and daughters have indeed offered themselves a few days of respite in a Swiss ski resort, a thousand leagues from the ambient chaos.

The news of Andrew's sidelining will be made official a few days after the visit of Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

"With the Queen's approval and consent, the Duke of York has restored her military affiliations and royal patronage to her," Buckingham Palace said in a statement released on January 13.

Discreetly

Now discretion is key.

"Prince Charles wants Prince Andrew to stay 'out of sight,'" headlines the

on Monday, February 14.

“He was warned to keep a low profile, explains an anonymous witness in

the

Charles doesn't want Andrew to be photographed every other day, looking playful, waving to photographers as soon as he arrives home."

According to the

, the Duke of Cornwall would even consider banishing his brother from Windsor Castle.

After the fiasco of the interview granted by Prince Andrew to "Newsnight", in November 2019, Elizabeth II and her eldest son want at all costs to avoid a new public skid.

Especially since Prince Harry's memoirs, which will be released at the end of 2022, could contain explosive revelations about the Duke of York.

A gate of salvation

In such circumstances, Elizabeth II and Prince Charles have decided to settle Prince Andrew's debt to Virginia Giuffre, by drawing on their personal funds, in order to protect the already damaged image of the royal family... but also of the prince himself.

“They also did it out of love – they are saving him from himself,” said a source close to royalty, who gave himself up in the

.

At least that is what the sovereign hopes.

If a large part of the royal family has already moved away from Prince Andrew - evidenced by the reaction of Prince William who, when asked about supporting his uncle, pretends not to hear the question of a journalist -, the queen has never given up on protecting her son.

Torn between “her duty as a mother and her duty as a monarch”, the sovereign wishes “desperately to help” her youngest son.

The unwavering support of Elizabeth II

But Elizabeth II must above all preserve the already damaged reputation of the Windsors, in view of its platinum jubilee, the festivities of which will be held from June 2 to 5.

The financial agreement concluded by Prince Andrew thus provides that Virginia Giuffre does not speak publicly on the accusations of sexual assault brought against the Duke of York, as long as the jubilee has not taken place.

The Queen has also ensured that her son retains the titles of Duke, Vice-Admiral and Councilor of State, despite pressure to have these honors stripped, reports the

.

However, the damage is done.

The Grenadiers Guards, a British regiment of which Prince Andrew was once a colonel, are now demanding that he be replaced by Kate Middleton.