Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II, has been stripped of military titles and royal patronages over sexual assault allegations.
Andrew, will no longer be referred to as ‘His Royal Highness’ in an official capacity. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Buckingham Palace.
The statement also disclosed that all the military affiliations and royal patronages held by Prince Andrew have been returned to the Queen.
The move came after Andrew’s lawyers failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him that accuses him of sexual abuse.
Virginia Giuffre in a lawsuit filed at an US Court accused the duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17.
Andrew had since denied Giuffre’s accusations that he forced her to have sex more than two decades ago, praying to the court to throw the case away.
However, on Thursday, New York Judge Lewis Kaplan overruled the request, leaving Andrew to undergo intense investigation on the allegation.
The Queen in a statement on Thursday has now stripped Andrew of all military titles and royal patronages to allow him fight his sex abuse lawsuit in America as a private citizen.
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen,” the statement reads.
He is only the 5th royal in recent history to stop using the HRH title, with Princess Diana and Sarah, Duchess of York, losing the styling after their divorce, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle agreed to lose theirs as part of their ‘Megxit’ deal with the Queen.
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