Outcast Andrew plans fightback as accuser drops case against US lawyer
PRINCE ANDREW was last night said to be planning a ‘fightback’ as he is adamant a return to public life may still be possible.
It comes after Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, last week dropped a case she had brought against American lawyer Alan Dershowitz, saying she ‘may have made a mistake’ when she accused him of sexual abuse.
A source said last night: ‘Everything has changed and Andrew is determined to fight.’
Andrew, 62, paid Giuffre, 39, a reported £12million to settle a civil case in which she accused him of sexual abuse. He has consistently and vehemently denied the claims.
It came as he spent yesterday shooting with Princess Anne, Prince Edward and other members of the Royal Family on the Windsor estate.
King Charles was also seen in Windsor and is thought to have joined his siblings in the afternoon.
But a Buckingham Palace source said the King had not attended the shoot, which took place two days before His Majesty’s 74th birthday.
The Duke appeared relaxed as he enjoyed lunch with Anne, her husband Tim Laurence, and Edward and his wife, the Countess of Wessex.
Sophie Winkleman, wife of Freddie Windsor, was also seen with the Royal party on the Windsor estate.
The pictures of the family gathering revealed that Andrew, far from being out in the cold, still has the support of members of his family. Yet he will not be present at the Cenotaph today as he is no longer able to take part in Royal events.
He was also absent from the Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall last night, which remembered those who fought in the Falklands conflict in 1982, in which Andrew served with the Royal Navy.
Last week The Mail on Sunday revealed that Andrew was left ‘bereft’ and in tears after the King made it clear to him that there would be no way back for him at ‘the Firm’.
The Duke is said to have been ‘blindsided’ by the outcome of the private meeting, held at Charles’s Birkhall estate in Scotland, just days before the Queen’s death. But his ex-wife and loyal supporter Sarah Ferguson was jubilant after news of Miss Giuffre’s backdown. A friend added:
‘Everything has changed – he’s determined to fight’
‘There is a feeling Andrew wants to forge ahead with a new life but the only person who can agree to that is the monarch. It means these conversations will have to start all over again now that we have a new King.’
Prince Andrew is expected to be invited for Christmas at Sandringham but a source said that the Duke’s career was not foremost on the King’s mind.
An insider said: ‘As King, Charles has a very full in-tray. Senior palace aides have previously said that the Duke of York would be supported by the family to forge a new life away from the public gaze.’
A spokesman for Prince Andrew declined to comment.
I agree with King Charles’s decision to tell Prince Andrew that he would never return to Royal duties, as reported in last week’s Mail on Sunday. There was no other option. The next stage is to remove Andrew’s title and to remove the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They did nothing but bring shame and hurt to the late Queen.
Juliet Bailey, Preston
The arrogance of Andrew to think that the general public would accept him back in a role within the Royal Family. His mother is no longer here to pamper him, and Charles is definitely right not to allow him back.
D. Evans, Norwich
I felt that the article regarding Prince Andrew said a lot about King Charles, as he appeared to have forgotten how badly he and Camilla treated Princess Diana. It is a great pity that today’s politicians don’t have the strength and courage of Stanley Baldwin, who advised Charles’s great-uncle Edward VIII that it was either the throne or the woman he loved.
Robert Bishop, Billingshurst, West Sussex
If Andrew hadn’t already turned public opinion against him by his arrogant manner and rudeness, he might have had some support from the people who count: us.
M. Hernandez, Bolton
As an ex-member of the Armed Forces, Andrew should have every right to attend any Remembrance Day service in his uniform if he so wishes, without the support from the King.
Henry Cooper, Oxford
Is it not hypocrisy that King Charles, guilty of adultery and taking a wife purely for creation of an heir, lectures other members of the Royal Family on morals?
Bob Bull, Portishead, Somerset
I have to state as a Christian that I am most disappointed that
King Charles, now head of the Anglican Church of England, does not practise the most important Christian act, that of
forgiveness. Surely, Andrew’s own brother can forgive him.
His bravery in the Falklands is beyond dispute and he was prepared to risk his life for others.
Name and address supplied
Andrew doesn’t seem to understand that the public don’t want him to resume his Royal duties. He made poor choices and abused his privileges.
Ali Wagner, Newcastle upon Tyne
People work their entire lives to have a life of leisure in their older years. Prince Andrew should be grateful that the King is allowing him to get on with his life without working another day in his life.
Tasha Reed, Gloucester