ANDREW REFUSES HONOUR FOR SAKE OF QUEEN
EXCLUSIVE Prince puts off accepting promotion to Admiral in wake of Epstein scandal
PRINCE Andrew has agreed to turn down a senior Navy role following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
He has declined promotion to the rank of Admiral for the sake of the Queen.
Her Majesty was due to promote her second son ahead of his 60th birthday
later this month. But Andrew will turn down the honour in an effort to protect his mother from the fallout over the Epstein sex trafficking scandal.
The move would have been in line with a long-standing policy under which senior royals are treated as if they had stayed in the Armed Forces and are promoted to higher ranks as a result.
But the Duke of York, who turns 60 on February 19, has agreed to fall on his ceremonial sword and declined to accept – at least for now – the promotion. It would have followed advancements to Rear Admiral on his 50th birthday and Vice Admiral when he was 55.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “By convention, the Duke of York would be in line for military promotion on his 60th birthday.
Humiliation
“Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that His Royal Highness returns to public duty.”
Andrew, who left the Navy in 2001 to become a full-time working royal, is by no means the only member of the family to be promoted as if he were still in the forces.
His elder brother Prince Charles was made an Admiral at the age of 58 and his sister Princess Anne received the same honour at 62.
But Palace and defence officials suggested the promotion, which has to be approved by the Queen, could yet be resurrected in future.
This may happen if he clears his name after an FBI investigation into his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Epstein.
The latest humiliation for Andrew follows the cancellation of a planned birthday reception for all his patronages after he was forced to stand down from representing them. And it comes amid frustration from US authorities, who have allegedly tried in vain to arrange an interview with him.
It also follows uproar yesterday over plans to fly Union flags on Government buildings and town halls to mark the Duke’s birthday after critics branded a reminder circular sent to local authorities
“crass and offensive”.
Officials in Whitehall were forced to announce a review of the policy under which
Government
buildings are required to fly the flag on royal birthdays, and town halls advised that they can do so if they want on such designated days.
A Government spokesman said: “The Department of Culture,
Media and Sport will be advising councils that there is no requirement to fly flags on February 19 following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future.”
The decision will also apply to other government buildings.
An email had been sent to councils by Matt Stevenson, the private secretary to Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government secretary Dame Melanie Dawes, reminding them that Andrew’s 60th is a designated flag day.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said: “When you look at his behaviour, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to mark his birthday.”
But Westminster Abbey will still mark the Duke’s birthday by ringing its bells in celebration.
The Abbey, where the Queen was married and crowned, is also where Andrew wed Sarah Ferguson back in 1986. Andrew stepped down
from public life in November after the fallout from a disastrous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight.
He was accused of showing a lack of empathy for paedophile Epstein’s victims and of failing to show regret over his friendship with the disgraced financier.
US authorities are keen to question him over what he knew about his now-dead friend’s alleged involvement in a sex trafficking ring of wealthy individuals.
They abused young women and underage girls.
Lawyers for some of Epstein’s alleged victims also want to talk to the Prince.
One accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has alleged that she was shipped by the billionaire financier to London, New York and the US Virgin Islands to have sex with Andrew when she was only 17.
The Duke has strenuously denied her claims.