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Prince Andrew reportedly wants Virginia Giuffre to retract allegations
Does Prince Andrew think he has spied a way back into royal favor and public life? According to reports in both the Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday, Andrew has consulted lawyers, hoping he can force Virginia Roberts Giuffre to retract allegations that he sexually assaulted her when she was a minor and being sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew also wants to get Giuffre to apologize, apparently inspired by her dropping a lawsuit against lawyer Alan Dershowitz, admitting that she “may have made a mistake” in identifying him as one of her past abusers. However, Giuffre told The Daily Beast in November that her settling of the defamation suit against Dershowitz should not be seen as Dershowitz being “exonerated,” as he had claimed.
The Mail reports that King Charles won’t stop Andrew from pursuing the legal action—even though Andrew officially has no royal role, and Charles told him his excommunication would be permanent. The shamed Andrew has always emphatically denied Giuffre’s allegations, though paid her an out of court, reportedly multi-million dollar settlement.
“Andrew felt as if he was in a pressure-cooker, as if he was given no option but to settle,” a source told the Mail on Sunday. “But he never wanted to settle and has always insisted he was innocent. He wants to see what legal routes might be available to him. This isn’t about the money. He wants a route back to some sort of normality after a deeply trying period. I can tell you with confidence that Prince Andrew’s team is now considering legal options.”
The Mail reports that it is not yet clear on what basis Andrew and his legal team might proceed—though his decision to do so may have been influenced by Ghislaine Maxwell who—speaking in her first broadcast interview from jail for Talk TV—claims the infamous photograph taken of her, Andrew, and Giuffre is a fake, and that she has “no memory” of Andrew and Giuffre meeting.
“I have no memory of them meeting, and I don’t think that picture is real.”
— Ghislaine Maxwell
“Her story frankly has changed multiple times,” Maxwell reportedly says of Giuffre. “It’s very hard to know really what’s true or not.” Maxwell added that the true story “has yet to unfold.”
“I have no memory of them meeting, and I don’t think that picture is real,” Maxwell said. “I don’t remember her in my home. I know that Virginia travelled with Jeffrey, and so it’s entirely possible. But the photo doesn’t appear to be real, and I don’t recall it being taken.”
The Sun quotes Maxwell saying of Giuffre: “I think her ‘memory lapses’ are disingenuous. If her memory is so poor, then how can you rely on anything she says? When you give a lot of details and make claims that last five, six or seven years, and then suddenly at the last moment decide that it was a memory lapse, I find that hard to credit.”
Andrew may be aware that Giuffre could speak out on him and Epstein further when a reported 12-month gagging clause she signed as part of the multi-million dollar court settlement expires in February. The Palace, Andrew’s office, and Giuffre’s lawyer declined to comment to the Mail.
Yes, it’s 2023 and people are really arguing about titles
Intriguingly, the Telegraph also has an Andrew-rehab story, saying the queen gave Andrew her blessing to use his HRH title “in a private capacity” and that he is now working on Charles to allow it also. “She was always in his corner and he had her ear, of that there was never any doubt,” the source said. “He was not stripped of the title and was still able to use it privately. He talked her around and she agreed.”
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (wearing the regimental tie of The Rifles) and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex attend the start of Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s Diamond Challenge cycle ride at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 19, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Prince Edward (unlike his brother) has been careful not to appear to be whining about his title following the failure of King Charles to honor, thus far, a previous agreement made by the queen to make Edward Duke of Edinburgh when the former holder of the title, Prince Philip, went to his reward.
Edward, in his only public comments on the matter, carefully said it was for the king to decide. He told the BBC: “It was fine in theory, ages ago when it was sort of a pipe dream of my father’s …. and of course it will depend on whether or not the Prince of Wales, when he becomes king, whether he’ll do that, so we’ll wait and see. So yes, it will be quite a challenge taking that on.”
However, the fact is that Edward was publicly promised the title after his marriage to Sophie, with a palace statement saying: “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales have agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the Dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title held now by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown.”
“The problem is you can have a situation where, in future, a senior title like Edinburgh, which is very important to the union, is eventually held by someone far removed from the throne.”
— Royal source
Charles however, was widely reported late last year to be preparing to not deliver on the agreement, apparently over concerns that bequeathing a hereditary title on Edward, which would then pass on to Edward’s eldest son, James, didn’t really mesh with Charles’ well-known goal of a slimmed-down monarchy.
Now, however, the Mail on Sunday reports “the tide is turning” and Edward may be made Duke of Edinburgh after all, with the proviso that the title does not automatically pass to his son.
An insider told the Mail: “The problem is you can have a situation where, in future, a senior title like Edinburgh, which is very important to the union, is eventually held by someone far removed from the throne.”
More incredible to the rest of us is that as the monarchy—nay the world!— faces crises on multiple fronts, some people really are worrying about who will have a title in 100 years time.
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Coronation will center diversity
Buckingham Palace has released plans for King Charles’ coronation, with three days of celebrations mixing pomp and general themes of diversity and community service kicking off on Saturday, May 6, with the coronation of Charles as king and Camilla as queen consort by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The rumors of a pared-back, no frills celebration seem unfounded. There will be plenty of glitz on the day. The palace said “the King’s Procession” feature Charles and Camilla being taken to Westminster Abbey, and then on the way back to Buckingham Palace “the Coronation Procession” will feature members of the royal family. Charles and Camilla will travel in the late queen’s ceremonial Gold State Coach, which she used for her coronation in 1953.
Queen Elizabeth, just after the Coronation in 1953.
Bettmann
There is still no word on whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be invited, or what roles they will have if they do. The usual wave-to-the-masses will then take place from the Buckingham Palace balcony. “Sources” tell today’s Mail on Sunday Harry and Meghan are “unlikely” to attend the balcony waving royals, as it will be reserved for working members of the family, which will also count out Andrew.
Royal aides told the Sunday Times that the coronation plans, which Charles is “actively involved and engaged in,” will ensure that his coronation day is “a thing of splendor,” with “pomp, pageantry, braids, brass and fly-pasts—a glorious advertisement for the U.K. with a traditional religious service at its core.” Camilla will be crowned alongside Charles, the Times reported. A royal aide told the Times: “There are no details yet on who will or won’t be in the procession or on the balcony.”
On Sunday, May 7, a special Coronation Concert—with “several thousand” tickets reserved for the public—will be staged and broadcast live at Windsor Castle by the BBC, featuring “global music icons and contemporary stars,” while a “world-class orchestra will play interpretations of musical favorites fronted by some of the world’s biggest entertainers, alongside performers from the world of dance.” A “Coronation Choir” will also be created from the nation’s keenest community choirs and amateur singers, “such as Refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs.”
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall continue to laugh after a bubble bee took a liking to Prince Charles during their visit to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary on November 5, 2015 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Rob Jefferies/Getty Images
The palace says the centerpiece of the Coronation Concert will be “Lighting up the Nation,” as “iconic locations across the United Kingdom are lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.”
Also on Sunday, The Coronation Big Lunch, at which neighbors and communities will be “invited to share food and fun together,” will take place across the country.
On Monday, May 8, The Big Help Out will seek to encourage the public to volunteer for projects to support their local areas.
A Buckingham Palace aide told the Times: “The King’s aspirations are for the coronation to be a moment of joyful, inclusive celebration for the nation, the Commonwealth and the realms, reflecting that Britain is a more modern and diverse nation than it was in 1953. With a focus on community-building and patriotism, His Majesty wishes everyone to feel as if they can have a stake in it if they wish to. It is equally important that the weekend should have some form of meaningful legacy, hence the support for volunteering initiatives.”
Harry’s army mates’ recollections vary
A full third of Harry’s memoir Spare was devoted to his time in the army, in the course of which he learnt to fly Apache attack helicopters. However, one section, in which he describes an alarming incident on a training mission, is being disputed by the trainer who was sitting next to him, Sergeant Major Michael Booley.
Harry wrote: “On one of our first flights together, with no warning, Booley threw the aircraft into a stall. I felt the left wing dip, a sickening feeling of disorder, of entropy, and then, after several seconds that felt like decades, he recovered the aircraft and leveled the wings.
“I stared at him. What in the absolute—? Was this an aborted suicide attempt?’ No, he said gently. This was the next stage in my training.”
Andrew Aitchison / Getty Images
Booley told the Mirror: “Whilst the book compliments me, the recollection of the sorties and lessons is inaccurate, I’m afraid. It’s important to highlight that nothing in the cockpit comes as a surprise.
“Every sortie is thoroughly briefed beforehand, every single aspect. The sortie is flown exactly as per that brief.”
Booley added that he retains fondness for Harry, saying: “He was an exceptional student, very talented indeed. He is a friend and a man I respect immensely who would always have my ear.”
This week in royal history
Three years ago in January 2020, as “Megxit” officially kicked into gear, Harry and Meghan issued a legal warning to the media over intrusion after photographers snapped Meghan out on a walk with baby Archie and the couple’s dogs on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Meghan said she had not consented for the photographs to be taken.
Unanswered questions
Will King Charles’ coronation be that different to Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee? Will Harry and Meghan show up? Will Andrew regret starting a new legal fight?
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