Prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, soon to lose those tattered titles of prince and Duke of York. Now the UK government is stepping up efforts to remove him of his naval baubles. This decision follows the release of his 2010 emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In sum, these alarming disclosures ought to cast a huge shadow of doubt over Andrew’s judgment and connections.
Things worsened when it was reported that Epstein, who’d been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in July 2009, suggested the rendezvous. He recommended that Prince Andrew be introduced to Jes Staley, a former high-level JP Morgan executive. Staley was recently banned from the UK banking sector for life due to misleading regulators regarding his relationship with Epstein.
In one such email conversation, Prince Andrew indicated that he had no current plans to visit New York. He is certain that he needs to take the trip soon. He wrote, “I have no immediate plans to drop by New York but I think I should at some stage soon. I’ll look and see if I can make a couple of days before the summer. It would be good to catch up in person.”
On a subsequent trip, he intends to meet Staley in person. Prince Andrew, due to the circumstances in which he finds himself, has been held to a microscopic lens. Buckingham Palace had previously announced that he would be stripped of his royal titles. He will leave behind Royal Lodge for a private home on Sandringham estate.
Prince Andrew’s finances have been placed under a magnifying glass. He has expressed alarm that he is due to get just £20,000 a year from his navy pension. He accrued this pension through his service in the navy from 1979-2001. That pension, once seen as a solid source of income, is now seen through the lens of his increasingly frail royal standing.
To that end, UK ministers have been working closely and regularly with King Charles III. They want to see Prince Andrew stripped of his honorary rank of vice-admiral, a title conferred on the Queen’s second son in 2015. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps stated, “We’ve seen Andrew surrender the honorary positions he’s had throughout the military, and guided again by the king, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has.”
Virginia Giuffre has already alleged that Prince Andrew had sex with her against her will on three occasions. The Duke has repeatedly rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing in response to these allegations. Giuffre’s posthumous memoirs have re-energized discussions about his behavior and relationships, especially his connection to Epstein.
“He has not been effectively rehabilitated into royal life since the scandal broke,” a source close to the royal family noted. “The ongoing inquiries and public sentiment against him have left little room for redemption.”
Prince Andrew’s fall from grace is steep with his loss of titles. He committed himself for more than two decades in the armed forces, where he served as a military helicopter pilot in the Falklands War. His former role provided him with an aura of respectability that has now been replaced by persistent scandals.
Public, military and media scrutiny of Prince Andrew is increasing. For good reason, his connections to Epstein and others have become the main focus of discussions about his continued place in the royal family.
“I don’t have an update for you on that, but just as with his vice-admiral rank and title, we would be guided by the decisions the king makes.” – Defence Secretary Grant Shapps