Following the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, the crimes and connections in Epstein's infamous "black book" implicate none other than the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew. A Manhattan judge has ruled that the sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew is allowed to move forward in the courts.
Just today, Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal and military titles by none other than his mother, Queen Elizabeth. Buckingham Palace states,
"With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
With the loss of his title, Andrew also loses the ability to refer to himself as "His Royal Highness" and to perform royal duties. He has been barred from his duties since 2019, when he defended Epstein and Maxwell in a BBC interview, but had since kept his military rankings as Vice Admiral and Colonel.
Andrew has now been stripped of all titles and duties by the Queen, but not without others urging her to do so. 150 veterans signed an open letter to the Queen, claiming he was giving the armed services a bad name. As they stated in the letter,
"We understand that he is your son, but … please do not leave it any longer. All of us have served our country and are proud to have done so. For that reason, we are particularly upset and angry that Prince Andrew remains a member of the armed forces and continues to hold military titles."
The accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claims Andrew forced her to have sex multiple times when she was underage. The trial is set to be heard in Manhattan federal court later this year.
