The Queen strips Prince Andrew of royal patronages and military titles — and now he'll face sexual-assault allegations as private citizen
- Prince Andrew has been stripped of his military titles and royal patronages.
- Buckingham Palace said Andrew would face a sexual-assault lawsuit as a private citizen.
Prince Andrew will defend himself from sexual-assault allegations as a private citizen, not as a British royal, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
The duke has also been stripped of his military titles, royal patronages, and HRH status.
"With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen," a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said in a statement sent to Insider. "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
Andrew will no longer use his HRH title in any official capacity, a royal source told Insider.
The Guardian reported that the prince previously held the title of colonel of the Grenadier Guards and several honorary military titles: honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth; colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment; colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps; commodore-in-chief of the Fleet Air Arm; royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers; deputy colonel-in-chief of the Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own) and royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
In August, Virginia Giuffre Roberts filed a lawsuit against Andrew accusing him of sexual assault.
Giuffre alleged that Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew in his New York mansion, in London, and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands in 2001 when she was 17.
The palace's statement came a day after a US judge denied the Duke of York's request to dismiss Giuffre's lawsuit.
US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Wednesday dismissed Andrew's argument that a 2009 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre from an earlier lawsuit protected him from future lawsuits.
Kaplan said the duke's motion to dismiss Giuffre's lawsuit was "denied in all respects," The Independent reported.