By Jennifer Y Omiloli
Upon addressing the Epstein debacle with Charles and calling the disturbed Duke of York to Buckingham Palace to know his fate, the Queen practically removed Prince Andrew from Royal duties.
The Monarch took decisive action to curb the fall-out from the catastrophic Newsnight interview with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein on his relationship with the duke.
The duke issued a statement last night confirming that he had’ stepped down’ from public duties with the permission of his mother. As a result, he will lose his annual income of £ 249,000 from the Sovereign Grant.
The television interview sparked days of disastrous news and led him to be abandoned by a series of corporations and charities.
The Queen called Andrew to Buckingham Palace after lengthy discussions with the Prince of Wales, who is visiting New Zealand, and ordered him to step down.
A friend of Andrew said to The Sun last night:’ The Queen called the Duke to Buckingham Palace to tell him about her decision. For both of them, it was a devastating moment. He’s got his reputation in tatters. He is unlikely to perform royal duties again at any time. He is disgraced.’
The source said the Duke would no longer receive his Sovereign Grant allowance because the expenses incurred during official duties were funded. His private-funded profits from the Queen should remain intact.
The devastated prince, who is eighth in line to the throne, was told he could write his own statement in an attempt to allow him to bow out gracefully.
A royal insider said: “When the Queen and the Prince of Wales stand firm together they are a pretty formidable combination in terms of getting things done.”
Asking a senior royal to stand up in this way is unprecedented and illustrates how damaging Andrew’s BBC Newsnight interview was for himself and the monarchy. The dramatic announcement came just as Andrew tried to make it business as usual.
The prince gave a’ disastrous’ BBC interview on November 16 in which he spoke about his relationship with Epstein and discussed his own sexual behavior claims. After his appearance on television, he faced a barrage of criticism, with the royal accused of lack of empathy with the victims of Epstein.
During the interview, Andrew, interviewed by Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, twice stated his relationship with Epstein, who died in prison while facing charges of sex trafficking, had some’ seriously beneficial results,’ giving him the opportunity to meet people and prepare for a future role as a business envoy.
The duke denied that he was sleeping with Virginia Giuffre, one of the victims of Epstein, on three separate occasions, twice as old as she was, saying that one encounter did not happen in 2001 as he spent the day with his daughter Princess Beatrice, taking her for a party to Pizza Express in Woking.
The same alleged sexual liaison, which the American said heavily began with the royal sweating as they danced at the Tramp nightclub in London, was in fact wrong as the duke said he had a medical condition at the time, which meant that he was not sweating. He cast doubt on the authenticity of a photo that seems to show Andrew, when a child, with his arm around Mrs. Giuffre’s waist.
