The Queen Takes Everything From Prince Amid Sex Scandal

One day after a New York judge denied “in all respects” the Duke of York’s bid to dismiss a sex-abuse lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, the Queen stripped him of his military affiliations and royal patronages.

Giuffre claims that Andrew sexually abused her when she was a minor, at the invitation of the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations, stating that he did not take part in the sexual exploitation of minors or witness such behavior.

Giuffre has said she was the victim of sex trafficking and abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and financier who committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.

Andrew’s reputation has come into question during the highly public scandal involving his ties to Epstein, whom he met through Epstein’s long-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The British socialite was also found guilty of federal sex-trafficking charges in December.

Andrew’s lawyers argue that a $500,000 settlement that Giuffre reached with Epstein in 2009 should block 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 still held honorary military titles in Britain and elsewhere in the commonwealth.

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.