King should ‘cast Prince Andrew aside to protect royal family’s reputation’
The King should “cast his brother aside” to protect the Royal family’s reputation after the Duke of York was named in unsealed court documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a public relations expert.
Prince Andrew is one of 150 men named as an “associate” of Epstein in the documents, which include allegations that he had three sexual encounters with an underage woman.
It is a fresh blow to Andrew’s reputation, following efforts to rehabilitate his public image after stepping back from public life over his ties to Epstein in 2019. He has always denied wrongdoing.
Carla Speight, a PR expert and reputation expert, said that Buckingham Palace would be in “damage limitation” mode following the unsealing of the court filings by a New York judge.
She said that that King Charles “must distance the family from Prince Andrew” if the monarchy “has any chance of avoiding a backlash from the public”.
“The is about damage limitation,” she told i. “That these accusations about Prince Andrew have once again been thrown into the spotlight will hurt the Royal Family’s reputation and the only way the King can mitigate the damage is to cast his brother aside.
“The King should ban the Duke from any public royal events and, my advice would be to ensure Andrew does not benefit from any of the royal privileges paid for by taxpayers.”
She added: “The Royal Family has already suffered a fall in popularity since the death of the Queen. If the King is to secure the future of the monarchy, then Andrew should not be near him or it.”
The latest development comes just 10 days ago after Prince Andrew walked to church on Christmas Day with the King and the rest of the Royal Family, symbolising his gradual rehabilitation within the monarchy after his public appearance at his brother’s coronation in his garter robes in May.
Prince Andrew was forced to step back from royal duties following a disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019 in which he discussed his friendship with Epstein.
But it is thought that the Duke, who is widely reported to have been the late Queen’s favourite son, continued to receive his mother’s tacit support.
“He now has his brother to deal with and I suspect he will not be as accommodating,” Ms Speight said.
“This could, and should, be the end of Andrew’s role within the Royal Family.”
The court filings from 2014 include claims that an alleged Epstein victim, named only as Jane Doe 3, was told to have sexual intercourse with the Duke during an orgy on the island of Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands, where the age of sexual consent is 18.
The woman alleges she was “forced to have sexual relations when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations” and was told to “give the Prince whatever he demanded”.
Jane Doe 3 is not named in the documents. Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, has previously claimed that she had sex with the Duke of York three times when she was 17 and 18 in around 2001.
In 2015, Ms Giuffre said in written evidence to a Florida court: “The third time I had sex with Andy was in an orgy on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
“I was around 18 at the time. Epstein, Andy, approximately eight other young girls, and I had sex together. The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English.”
