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 Aberdeenshire, just days before the Queen’s death. But his exwife 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.