Jeffrey Epstein continues to have an influence from the grave, not only here but abroad. Daily Beast:

Queen Elizabeth has taken the extraordinary step of stripping scandal-plagued Prince Andrew of his military and royal titles as he fights a civil sexual assault lawsuit.

“With the Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement Thursday. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending the case as a private citizen.”

CNBC:

The announcement came within hours of a letter from more than 150 veterans of the Royal Navy, Air Force and Army calling on the queen to strip her second son of all his titles and ranks in the armed forces.

The letter said that Andrew had “fallen well short of” the military’s highest standards of “probity, honesty and honourable conduct.”

“It is hard not to see, when senior officers are reportedly describing him as ‘toxic’, that he has brought the services he is associated with into disrepute,” the letter said.

Virginia Giuffre claims in her Manhattan federal court lawsuit that she had sex with the prince at age 17 several times at the direction of Ghislaine Maxwell, who recently was convicted at a criminal trial in the same court of procuring other underage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.

Andrew denies Giuffre’s allegations and has said he does not recall ever meeting her.

A judge on Wednesday rejected Andrew’s request that the lawsuit be dismissed. Lawyers for the Duke of York had argued that a civil settlement that Epstein reached with Giuffre in 2008 barred her from suing Andrew or others who allegedly abused her as a result of her connection with Epstein.

The main takeaway is that I commend Queen Elizabeth for taking this step because it’s clear that she doesn’t want sordid scandal to sully the monarchy. She’s protecting the monarchy as an institution by drawing a red line on what is acceptable and what is not.

And I commend the veterans who wrote the letter for the same thing. They have a sense of honor and appropriate behavior and they’re not going to let it slide for one man.

If some of the institutions in this country, yes, Republican party we’re talking about you, would have been able to do this in 2016, anytime in 2016, we would not be having the national conversation that we’re having now about insurrections and conspiracy theories. So good for the Queen of England and some of her subjects, at least, for knowing when to say enough is enough and draw the line. I wish we could see more of that in this country.

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15 COMMENTS

  1. Andrew is well down the list of heirs to the throne – he’s a younger brother of Charles, and Charles has grandchildren who are in line before Andrew.

  2. Wonder how many Republicans were on Jeffrey’s tongue b4 he’s found dead in a cell watched by Trump & barr’s boys???? Now here is meat for a conspiracy theory with some suspicious elements. Get to it!!!

  3. I read somewhere, that Andrew has 3 choices, but none of the results are good. I didn’t read the details, but I know that either fighting in court, or settling will not restore his good name. It seems a no-win situation. I think the Queen’s decision was rather obvious.

  4. My mom has been watching Andrew like a hawk. Given how much the monarchy is unsettled by other events, he’s the kind of PR headache they don’t need right now…or ever.

    Whoever killed Epstein (and my money is firmly on Trump), it’s proving to be the gift that keeps on taking.

  5. While the Royal Navy’s actions are commendable though it does seem an odd tack to take since Andrew hasn’t been found guilty of anything at this point (on that, if Andrew’s found not guilty of a crime, does the Queen restore his titles, royal AND military?) but I just have to wonder if their action was taken to avoid (or divert attention) from improprieties within the Royal Navy?

    Overall, is this how British justice works–presumed guilty till proven innocent?

    • While there’s no criminal conviction this particular Royal has been embroiled in a fair amount of controversy. This business with Epstein and Andrew’s association with him and Maxwell and his antics have long been known and while the Queen has had a soft spot for him I’m sure she’s taken him to task quite a few times over the years. The thing is, rich and powerful people can get away with all manner of sexual dalliances, indiscretions and even perversion as long as they are discreet! Andrew hasn’t been and that’s why he’s been taken to task by his family before. Now we have this business with Epstein all over the news and it’s not just repeated partying with people who long ago wouldn’t be allowed inside Buckingham Palace at some Royal event, it involved (allegations at least) of not just sex with a minor but rape. Andrew could hem and haw and makes excuses to his mom the Queen about how the girl “looked” eighteen or older and how he “should have done a better job of making sure” but I suspect his mom the Queen scolded him with the “you should never have put yourself in a position where such questions could be raised” response.

      More specifically to your point though this crap with this particular Prince is another part of his rather less than exemplary life which in turn tarnishes his “Patronage.” And while there’s no court decision Andrew has little going for him. His name and Patronage have become toxic, and I for one don’t blame the Officers for asking the Queen to remove Andrew from his posts. He never set much of an example to begin with.

    • the letter I saw was from relatively low-ranking members of all the branches. They feel that he’s a stain on *their* image and honor.

    • Yes. That pretty much is how it works over there.

      Seriously tho’ those patronages are at the Queen’s pleasure and can be given, and taken, when and where she decides. Titles as well at least where her family is concerned.

  6. Hello Ursula. This is my first time posting, but I can’t let this go. Queen Elizabeth is the queen of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England). It is incredibly frustrating for us in the other 3 countries to be lumped in with England when we are separate nations.

    • Thank you, Elaine. She is indeed Queen of the United Lingdom, and this must be very painful for her. From being in the military as a driver/mechaic during World War II to voluntarily authorizing the collection of taxes from the Crown, to continuing ti be strong and graccious after losing her husband (not all that long ago – and he whatever his faults, was apparently always there for her), she has demonstrated how it is done. And by and large, her family has not, which already cannot exactly make her happy.

      Her grandfather, GEorge V, was apparently an excellent, almost prescient, judge of character.

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