Why was Prince Andrew stripped of his titles?
2:47
London (CNN)
It's hard to imagine a worse start to 2022 for Prince Andrew.
The queen's second son has been stripped of his prized royal titles and will be the only one of his siblings no longer addressed as His Royal Highness, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday.
The extraordinary plea came a day after a federal judge rejected a bid to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him in New York.
Judge Lewis Kaplan effectively said that Andrew has to answer after being accused of sexual assault.
Prince Andrew Stripped of His Military Titles and Charities Amid Sex Abuse Lawsuit
She now faces the possibility of a very public trial later this year over allegations brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claims convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficked her to royalty when she was a minor.
Andrew previously denied all allegations and said he does not remember meeting the then 17-year-old, nor does he remember taking the photo with her that has repeatedly appeared in media around the world.
A royal source told us that all of Andrew's titles, his military affiliations and other royal patronages, have been returned to his mother with immediate effect and will be redistributed to other members of the family.
advertising
We're told the decision involved many of the Windsors, but the Queen will have the final say, in close consultation with her direct heirs, Princes Charles and William.
To be clear: Andrew retains his own title of Duke of York and remains a member of the royal family, but, like the Sussexes, he will no longer represent the Queen in an official capacity.
A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York: pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38
– The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 13, 2022
The loss of military titles will be extremely painful for the prince, who, as a veteran of the Falklands War, took that part of the job very seriously.
In a press release, it was made clear that Andrew will no longer hold any real public office and will defend himself as a private citizen on the accusations made by Giuffre.
The Duke of York still has legal options that he can pursue in the sexual assault lawsuit, but each carries a degree of risk and no guarantee that he will be able to repair his reputation.
In a nutshell, the prince can choose to appeal the judge's sentence, fight it out by going to trial, default, or settle.
Several legal experts we have spoken with in the last 48 hours have suggested that an out-of-court settlement may be the best approach.
But Giuffre's attorney, David Boies, said his client may prefer to have his day in court.
"I think it's very important to Virginia Giuffre that this matter is resolved in a way that vindicates her and the other victims. I don't think she has a firm view of exactly what the solution should be," she said in an interview with the BBC. .
“But I think what is going to be important is that this resolution vindicates her and vindicates the claim that she has made.”
A source close to Prince Andrew told CNN on Thursday that he "will continue to defend himself" against the sexual assault lawsuit.
"Given the strength with which Judge Kaplan received our arguments, we are not surprised by the ruling. However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms. Giuffre's allegations," the source said.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint and the Duke will continue to defend himself against these claims," the source added.
The queen and her second son chat at the Windsor Horse Show in May 2017.
Andrew's permanent removal from royal duties must have been a difficult decision for the matriarch, but she clearly felt she was needed as head of the institution.
The message here is this: the New York case is simply too damaging to the family and the monarchy's reputation that he had to go.
With no official duties to perform, you will no longer receive public funds, but you will be free to take paid work in the private sector or raise money through other private means to fund your very expensive legal endeavor.
That would have been seen as a conflict of interest as long as he had his HRH titles.
Why does the title of her royal highness mean so much to British royalty?
The sovereign herself faced some criticism for not acting fast enough when scandal began to engulf Prince Andrew in 2019, following an interview about her relationship with Epstein after a car accident with the BBC.
Many at the time felt that he lacked empathy for the victims of the disgraced financier and that their titles should have been revoked then, rather than more than two years later.
Mark Stephens, a media lawyer at the London-based firm of Howard Kennedy, believes the family and the public were "prepared to give him some leeway to defend himself on the grounds that you are innocent until proven guilty." .
The prince's lawyers argued that Giuffre's lawsuit violated the terms of his 2009 settlement agreement with Epstein in Florida, in which he agreed to a "blanket release" from the lawsuits against Epstein and others.
That newly released agreement shows that Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 to drop the case without admitting liability or fault.
The prince's name does not appear explicitly as part of the group.
They both attended the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn in London on December 13, 2018.
However, Stephens continued: "When he tried to say, with one side of his mouth, 'I never met this woman' and with the other, 'Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile, solved my case for me or any case for me' I think that was too much for the British public to stomach, and that's when the public, I think, moved decisively against Prince Andrew and anyone who was seen to support him."
"The criticism of the queen and the tacit support of her son has really only occurred since Brettler (the duke's lawyer) made that argument to Judge Kaplan, and it has sounded louder since the results of that argument became known," he added.
The question now is: will the duke's permanent exile be enough to check the reputational damage in the eyes of the public?
Legal experts say the queen has responded with authority, acting quickly rather than waiting for a verdict should the case reach the trial stage.
She only keeps the crown by virtue of parliamentary support and that, in turn, has public support.
Nick Goldstone, head of dispute resolution at international law firm Ince, called the removal of military titles and royal patronages, along with the inability to use the HRH style in an official capacity, a "significant advance".
He said it was "probably enough" to stifle further criticism of the public's inaction, adding that it "certainly appears to have ended the Duke of York's public life as a royal for the foreseeable future."
Prince Andrew stands with his mother and other members of the royal family during Trooping The Colour, the Queen's annual birthday parade, on June 8, 2019 in London.
Stephens also believes that the palace moved quickly and decisively.
"Essentially, he was put out to pasture, and his status was reduced to the same status as Prince Harry," he said, adding: "The return of his titles and honorifics makes it clear that he has no part in the future of civic life." public of this country.
Notably, that means Prince Andrew won't get a front seat at upcoming celebrations to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne.
You will be there for group photos but without the privileged position that an HRH assumes.
Prince Andrew now hopes the public can compartmentalize the lawsuit and allow 2022 to be defined as a year of royal celebration rather than a scandalous one.
That is clearly the hope of the rest of the family.
Did you know?
So, it was announced that Prince Andrew will stop wearing the "HRH" style in any official capacity.
Let's break down what it all means.
The letters stand for His Royal Highness, a style used to denote the most important members of the royal family.
Since the early 18th century, it has been customary for the title to be bestowed on the sons and grandsons (and later, daughters and granddaughters) of the monarch.
It is awarded to royal members at the monarch's discretion at the time, but was used lavishly until the First World War.
Then, in 1917, George V restricted how many lesser royals got the title, at a time when there were public suspicions about the German origins of the House of Windsor, quickly renamed that year the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The Duke of York at the Royal Air Force centenary ceremony at Westminster Abbey on July 10, 2018.
Queen Elizabeth II relaxed those guidelines, granting Her Royal Highness status to various royals.
Today, the sons and grandsons of the monarch traditionally obtain the title of Her Royal Highness, although granddaughters were historically denied it.
The title does not extend to all minor royals, but it does include family members such as the queen's cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, who is well below the line of succession.
Not everyone accepted the offer of an HRH.
Princess Anne, the queen's daughter, refused the title for her own children, Peter and Zara.
The move allowed them to carve out a relatively normal life away from public scrutiny.
After the divorce from Prince Charles, Diana was stripped of her royal highness title.
Instead, she was given the courtesy title of "Diana, Princess of Wales".
Similarly, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was also stripped of her HRH following her divorce from Prince Andrew.
More recently, the Sussexes relinquished their titles of their royal highness after announcing that they were stepping away from the royal family and moving to the United States.
(With information from CNN's Rob Picheta)
Advertisements
Queen Elizabeth II visits the set of the television series Coronation Street, in Manchester, England, on July 8, 2021.
The palace reveals how the queen's 70 years on the throne will be celebrated.
A holiday weekend, a special "platinum pudding" and a parade of flags.
June is shaping up to be a fun and extravagant celebration of Britain's longest-serving monarch.
We have previously mentioned that to mark an unprecedented anniversary, a series of events will be held across the UK throughout the year, culminating in a four-day bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June. June, known as Jubilee Weekend (the weekend of the jubilee in Spanish).
A little girl from Kentucky dressed up as Queen Elizabeth II.
A few months later he received an email from royalty
One of the initiatives is the "Platinum Pudding" contest, a nationwide baking competition looking for a new dessert dedicated to the queen (think "The Great British Baking Show", but bigger!) UK residents Ages eight and up are eligible to create a recipe, and finalists will be judged by a panel that includes celebrity baker Mary Berry, renowned chef and "Masterchef UK" judge Monica Galetti, and Buckingham Palace's chef de cuisine, Mark Flanagan. The winning recipe will be made available to the public before the long weekend.
The Trooping the Color Parade will return to kick off the celebrations.
But we will also have headlights lit across the country, the Buckingham Palace music concert and street parties.
It all culminates in a parade that will include 5,000 UK and Commonwealth staff, artists, key workers and volunteers.
This parade will include a "River of Hope" section, with 200 silk banners flowing down The Mall, the London road that leads to Buckingham Palace, like a river.
Schoolchildren are invited to create an image of their hopes and aspirations for the planet over the next 70 years as a piece of art for the flags.
Get the details of the celebration here.
What else is going on?
Downing Street apologizes to the Queen.
Downing Street officials have apologized to Buckingham Palace following a report in The Telegraph newspaper that alleged two parties were held on April 16 last year, the night before Prince Philip's funeral.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deputy official told reporters on Friday: "It is deeply regrettable that this has come at a time of national mourning, and Number 10 has apologized to the palace."
Under England's coronavirus restrictions, indoor social gatherings were limited at the moment.
The next day, the nation watched as the queen sat alone in St George's Chapel in Windsor.
The photograph of the lonely and distraught monarch aroused enormous sympathy from the public, both at home and abroad.
April 17 – Britain's Queen Elizabeth II takes her seat at her husband's funeral, held at St George's Chapel within the grounds of Windsor Castle.
She sat alone to comply with covid-19 security restrictions.
Credit: Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prince Charles says that painting "refreshes the soul".
In the largest exhibition of his watercolors to date, painting enthusiast Prince Charles described the restorative benefits of art, saying it "transports me to another dimension," adding that his hobby "refreshes parts of the soul that other activities cannot reach.
"The Crown" offers a first look at the new Prince Charles and Princess Diana
A new exhibition brings together nearly 80 of the prince's landscape paintings. Like Queen Victoria, the prince is a "zealous watercolourist" who "paints when his schedule allows," according to his official website. the royal family estates, including Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, and has also done watercolors in Turkey, Nepal and the Swiss Alps Read more.
Prince Charles painting with watercolors in Klosters, Switzerland
Royal Family Jeffrey Epstein Queen Elizabeth II
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/6M4PW47DCNEBNJKTRL54HEQV74.jpg)
