Prince Andrew is stripped of his royal patronages and military titles
One day after Prince Andrew lost his bid to quash a sex-abuse lawsuit, he's been stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday.
The move comes with Queen Elizabeth II's "approval and agreement," the palace said.
Updated January 13, 2022 at 12:59 PM ET
Andrew will also stop being addressed as "His Royal Highness" in an official capacity, the BBC reported.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York denied "in all respects" the Duke of York's request to dismiss the abuse case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.
The statement from the royal family mentioned Giuffre's case, noting that Andrew is "defending this case as a private citizen."
Giuffre says Andrew sexually abused her when she was a minor, at the invitation of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, stating that he didn't participate in the sexual exploitation of minors or witness such behavior.
Andrew's military titles had been one of the last vestiges of the life he led before his reputation was ravaged by the highly public scandal involving his ties to Epstein, whom he met through his long-time friend Ghislaine Maxwell. The British socialite was recently found guilty of federal sex-trafficking charges in the U.S.
The British prince's lawyers have argued that a $500,000 settlement that Giuffre reached with Epstein in 2009 should prevent her from suing him. But District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said the settlement, made public earlier this month, is too vague to specifically protect Andrew from a lawsuit.
Andrew stepped back from his public duties in late 2019 — but until Thursday, he continued to hold honorary military titles in Britain and elsewhere in the commonwealth, even as a number of charities and foundations severed ties.
In 2017, the queen approved Andrew's appointment as the new colonel of the famed Grenadier Guards — a post that had long been held by his father, the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
She had previously appointed Andrew as royal colonel of regiments or units such as the Small Arms School Corps, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, and the 9th/12th Lancers. [Copyright 2022 NPR]
