Royal courtiers are said to have explored ways to send Prince Andrew into internal exile, including preventing him from using his title and other measures like giving up all of his charitable connections. As it would be challenging for the Queen to take away the title of Duke of York from Prince Andrew.
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The title was held by her father before he became the king and she passed it down to her favourite son, who appears to have disgraced her. A source told The Sunday Times,
If he loses the case, the question is what do you do with him? You can’t make him resign like you would a normal person but he would be asked to put his dukedom into abeyance.
Give everything up!
According to insiders, the duke is also being pressured to give up his honorary military duties so that the Queen is not compelled to divest him of them personally if Ms Giuffre's petition is successful. Andrew is currently the colonel-in-chief of nine military units, regiments, and corps, but his roles have become undefendable. An insider commented,
If the case succeeds, he must go and that is the correct decision.
Even if Andrew is completely exonerated from any wrongdoing he is now regarded as toxic. It is expected he will do the decent thing and resign.
The allegations come as the duke faces a critical 48-hour deadline to have his accuser's case dismissed. At a video conference hearing in New York on Tuesday, high-powered lawyers for him and Virginia will go head-to-head to decide the fate of her complaint.
Prevent Trial at all costs
Andrew is keen to prevent a civil trial against Virginia. Although Virginia did not testify in court for Maxwell's case, her name was mentioned over 250 times. Maxwell was found guilty and according to Virginia's attorney, Virginia would make a victim impact statement before Maxwell learns the full nature of her sentence.
Sources close to the situation revealed Prince Andrew felt convinced that the US case would be rejected. It comes amid allegations that as a member of the Royal Family, he acted with impunity, dismissing advice from anybody who questioned him about Epstein by saying,
F*** off out of my office.
However, it is believed if Andrew clears his name, he is willing to publicly acknowledge the suffering felt by victims of Maxwell and Epstein. A royal insider commented,
The next 48 hours are absolutely critical for Andrew and the Royal Family. If he could get the Virginia lawsuit thrown out before it goes to trial, it would be a huge win. He is confident, but the people around him are realistic — they know that he faces an uphill task.
Andrew can deny that he was good friends with Epstein — but there’s no denying it with Maxwell. And now she’s a convicted sex trafficker.
