Queen Elizabeth has stripped Prince Andrew of all his military titles and royal patronages amid the latest news that he could face trial based on the latest ruling in the civil case which is being brought against him by Virginia Giuffre.
Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming the news on Thursday, “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.”
Prince Andrew’s attempt to have a sexual assault lawsuit against him thrown out was rejected on Wednesday after the U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan refused to grant the royal’s bid to dismiss a federal lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, a woman who alleges that he sexually abused her when she was a minor, according to court docs obtained by Access Hollywood.
The federal judge ruled that it was too soon to consider the Duke of York’s efforts to cast doubt on Giuffre’s accusations, who is also one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, the royal will have to do so during trail
“Ms. Giuffre’s complaint is neither ‘unintelligible’ nor ‘vague’ nor ‘ambiguous’ … It alleges discrete incidents of sexual abuse in particular circumstances at three identifiable locations. It identifies to whom it attributes that sexual abuse,” Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in the ruling.
One of Giuffre’s lawyers David Boies praised Judge Lewis Kaplan’s decision to dismiss the case, “Ms. Giuffre is, of course, pleased that Prince Andrew’s motion to avoid a trial has been denied, and that the evidence will now be taken concerning her claims. She looks forward to a judicial determination of the merits of those claims,” the lawyer said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Prince Andrew’s lawyers tried to block the lawsuit brought by Giuffre and released details of a legal settlement in which she took $500,000 from Epstein not to bring further legal action, according to NBC News.
In the ongoing lawsuit, Giuffre claim she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island when she was under the age of 18.
Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing and in a 2019 interview with BBC, Queen Elizabeth’s son said he has “no recollection” of ever meeting Giuffre.
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