Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts has urged the King to go further and strip Andrew of his right to be a prince. The King has already ruled that Andrew will no longer attend Christmas Day service with the royal family.
William’s cold shoulder
Andrew’s standing with his relatives was laid bare during the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September, when he attempted to engage William in conversation. William did not respond to comments made by his uncle, who stood beside him on Westminster Cathedral steps, staring straight ahead and barely acknowledging Andrew’s presence.
When William becomes king, he will ban Andrew from all elements of royal life including his coronation and most state occasions, the Sunday Times reported. William will also exclude Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson from royal events, though their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will remain welcome at family gatherings.
This approach contrasts with King Charles, who allowed Andrew to attend his 2023 coronation wearing his Order of the Garter robes. Andrew has since given up his Garter knighthood, meaning he can no longer wear the robes or attend the Order’s annual Windsor Castle service.
Giuffre’s posthumous revelations
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs, due out on Tuesday, have intensified focus on the sexual assault allegations and Andrew’s links to Epstein. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, wrote that Andrew insisted she sign a one-year gag order after their settlement to protect the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
She described Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview as an “injection of jet fuel” for her legal team, raising the possibility of subpoenaing Sarah, Beatrice and Eugenie. Giuffre said she got “more out of” Andrew than a reported 12-million-dollar payout because she had “an acknowledgement that I and many other women had been victimised and a tacit pledge to never deny it again”.
Andrew paid millions to settle the civil case in 2022 despite claiming never to have met Giuffre and vehemently denying her allegations that she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions when she was 17. The settlement came just nine days after Queen Elizabeth II reached her 70th anniversary of accession.
Sources used: “Sunday Times”, “Mail on Sunday”, “Telegraph”, “PA Media” Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.