Prince Andrew, the Queen’s spoiled son who paid for his friendships

In a new development related to the case of the late American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, a judge in New York rejected the request of Prince Andrew’s lawyer to cancel the case brought by an American woman against the prince alleging sexual assault on her in 2001 when she was seventeen.

In his decision, Judge Lewis Kaplan considered that the request to dismiss this civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, one of the victims of sexual assaults against American financier Jeffrey Epstein, was “rejected in all respects.”

Lawyers for the prince demanded that the case be dismissed, citing an agreement the prosecutor signed in 2009 with the convicted sex offender Epstein.

And Geoffrey, now at the center of one of the world’s biggest legal battles, has brought a civil case against Britain’s Prince Andrew, the Queen’s son.

Andrew has repeatedly denied her allegations of sexual assault, but his attorney’s efforts to dismiss the case at an early stage have so far failed, leaving a civil trial in New York next fall on the horizon.

Buckingham Palace has said the Duke of York’s military titles and royal patronage have been returned to the Queen.

A royal source said Prince Andrew, 61, would also stop using the title “His Royal Highness” in an official capacity.

Prince Andrew will keep the title “His Royal Highness” but will not use it in any official capacity.

On Thursday, more than 150 veterans of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army signed a letter from the anti-monarchist lobby Republic demanding that the Queen strip Prince Andrew of his eight British military titles.

The Duke of York served for 22 years in the Royal Navy and was a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War.

As a former member of the armed forces, he was promoted by the Navy in line with his peers still serving in the Navy to the rank of Vice Admiral on his 55th birthday in 2015.

The palace confirmed that it would keep that rank.

As the Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew has learned that he is unlikely to inherit the throne.

He had to find his own role in life, which he did with when he joined the Royal Navy where he took part in the Falklands War and then undertake a series of public duties which he performed with enthusiasm.

When his marriage to Sarah Ferguson fell apart, which made the headlines, Ferguson bore most of the blame.

The biggest blow to the Duke of York’s reputation came when his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came under scrutiny in 2019.

At best, the right thing to do is Prince Andrew’s decision to continue the relationship with Epstein after his imprisonment. At worst, there were allegations that he engaged in inappropriate sex with a teenage girl, Virginia Giuffre.

The Duke’s attempt to hit back at his critics in a BBC television interview backfired as his stance toward Epstein’s victims was widely condemned as insensitive.

It was a scandal that eventually forced him to step back from his royal duties and tarnished his reputation.

Andrew Albert Edward Christian was born at Buckingham Palace on February 19, 1960, the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip.

His mother’s reign was well established by the time he was born, so he was brought up in a more relaxed family atmosphere than his two older brothers Charles and Anne.

The Queen had more time to spend with him than the others and Prince Andrew was often seen by her side as she traveled around the country.

Like his older brother and sister, he received his early education from a governess before attending Heatherdown Preparatory School in Surrey.

Prince Philip was determined that Andrew should follow the family tradition and go to his old school, Gordonston in Scotland, which had a strong and rigorous education.

Andrew committed himself to the Navy and began training to become a helicopter pilot in 1979, following in the footsteps of his older brother.

He had just joined the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible as a Sea King helicopter pilot when, in the spring of 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

Subsequently, then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered a British squad to fight.

His aircraft carrier was a target, and there was political concern about whether the prince should be allowed to go to war. But Andrew insisted.

“If I had not gone to the Falkland Islands, my position in the Navy would have been unacceptable,” he later said.

“It was exactly the same work we used to do, the only difference was that we were carrying live weapons and doing our job for real,” he added.

The Prince served during the war with distinction, as Sea King helicopters played a vital and dangerous role during the Argentine air attacks, as they acted as decoys for the deadly Exocet missiles.

He later spoke of seeing another ship, the Atlantic Convoy, exploding. “It is a vivid memory imprinted in my mind, and it will remain for a very long time a terrifying memory,” he said.

Andrew later claimed that the adrenaline rushes he experienced during the conflict left him unable to sweat permanently.

But the press was interested in his love life as well as his heroism.

He has had an affair with the glamorous actress Coe Stark whom he often talks about as his future wife.

But when the details of her past career in erotic films were made public, and Andrew had to end the relationship, it was a severe blow.

After that he was seen with models, and gained fame as a rowdy playboy. Andrew hated the attention, and on one occasion sprayed paint on American journalists.

But if his private life was precarious, Andrew’s career in the Navy continued to flourish as he flew Lynx helicopters and was attached to HMS Brizen as chief instructor.

In the summer of 1985 he met Sarah Ferguson, a childhood playmate, and soon the direct relationship and love between them deepened, to the delight of the Queen.

They were engaged in March of 1986, and married 4 months later in Westminster Abbey.

With her striking red hair and open personality, Sarah made a strong impression on the people, and was universally hailed as a “breeze of fresh air” for the royal family.

Two years later, their first child, Beatrice, was born, and the couple seemed perfectly happy.

But Andrew spent long stints in the Navy. Sarah would travel to join him whenever possible, but they faced criticism for leaving their child in the care of a nanny.

The birth of their second child, Eugenie, added to the pressure. Andrew said farewell was the worst part of sea life.

His extended absences meant that his wife had to entertain herself and parties and her lavish lifestyle began to gain press attention.

Until then Andrew was a helicopter pilot aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Campbelltown. On board, he was treated, as far as possible, like any other officer.

But by 1992, marriage tensions began to surface.

The discovery of photos of the Duchess with US oil tycoon Steve White has put the spotlight on the royal couple.

One in particular, in which Wyatt appears with Princess Beatrice, is said to have angered the Duke.

Soon, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Andrew and Sarah were separating.

Although the duchess joined the royal family at Balmoral that summer, any hopes of reconciliation have been dashed by a new set of photos showing the duchess sunbathing topless and frolicking in the pool with another American, John Bryan.

With his entire marriage ending except for the name, the Duke threw himself into his career.

In April 1993, he took command for the first time, becoming captain of the HMS Cotsmore minesweeper.

He spent another 7 years in the army and was promoted to lieutenant colonel although he served increasingly in managerial positions allowing him time to carry out public duties as part of his royal duties.

Andrew retired from the Navy in 2001. He had a lot of interests to occupy himself including golf, but he was keen to spend more time with his family.

Despite the divorce, the Duke maintained a good relationship with his ex-wife and even allowed her to return to the marital home to help her pay off her debts.

Andrew became the British government’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a role that saw him spend a decade traveling the world promoting Britain at trade fairs and conferences.

But he has also been criticized for using taxpayer-funded flights for what appeared to be private flights.

One newspaper claimed that many of his trips abroad, presumably on government business, appeared to have ended at ski slopes and other exotic locations.

In 2006 he chartered a private jet to take him from London to Aberdeen for a golf holiday, and earlier that year spent more than £11,000 on a charter plane to take him to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews.

More seriously, he was forced to deny knowledge of a meeting at which his ex-wife had allegedly offered a reporter access to him for money.

It was also alleged that he became very close to the regime in Kazakhstan, especially when the son-in-law of the Kazakh president paid 15 million pounds for the Ducal House in Sari.

There was further controversy over the duke’s friendship with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, after criticism of corruption and human rights abuses in the country, which led to him stepping down as British trade envoy in 2011.

And there were questions about Andrew’s choice of friends, particularly Epstein, who was convicted of having sex with underage girls for money.

His photos with the newly released Epstein sparked widespread condemnation. It was reported at the time that they were looking at Epstein’s help in paying off some of the Duchess of York’s private debts.

Even worse, a woman, Virginia Giuffre, alleged that Epstein trafficked her for sex with a number of men, including the Duke of York.

Buckingham Palace issued a strong denial, although a photograph of Andrew with his arm wrapped around Geoffrey’s waist fanned the flames.

The Duke appeared to have weathered a storm in 2018 when millions watched on television as he walked with his youngest daughter down the aisle of St George’s Chapel in Windsor on her wedding day.

There was grumbling that Prince Andrew insisted that Princess Eugenie and her new husband ride in an expensive convertible.

But a year later, courts in America saw more allegations that Prince Andrew had behaved inappropriately with young women while staying at Epstein Palace.

The Duke decided to face it once and for all in an interview with BBC Newsnight.

The prince denied having sexual relations with Virginia Giuffre, and said he did not remember meeting her. He claimed he was at Pizza Express in Woking one night that Geoffrey claimed he had sex with.

He questioned the authenticity of the famous photo. He showed no regrets about his friendship with Epstein: “The people I’ve met, and the opportunities I’ve had to learn have been really helpful.”

The Duke was said to have been pleased with the interview but the reaction was immediate. Days later, Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke would resign from all his royal duties and would, in effect, cease to be a working member of the royal family.