Prince Andrewreached an out-of-court settlement withVirginia Giuffrein her sexual assault lawsuit against the royal, but what does that mean for his royal status?
In January,Queen Elizabethannounced she wasstripping her son of his royal patronages and military titlesamid the lawsuit. However, the settlement of the lawsuit does not change the monarch’s decision. While the Queen’s son remains a member of the royal family, his military affiliations and patronages will not be returned to him.
The decision was “widely discussed” within the senior ranks of the royal family, a royal source confirms to PEOPLE — likely meaning talks betweenQueen Elizabeth,Prince CharlesandPrince William.
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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Prince Andrew, 61, will likely retain his title as the Duke of York and keep his place in the line of succession to the throne, which is currently ninth behindPrince HarryandMeghan Markle’s two children. However, he will no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity.
Prince Andrew; Virginia Roberts Giuffre.Alexander Koerner/Getty; Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty
Andrew’s younger daughter,Princess Eugenie(who traveled to California and attended the Super Bowl over the weekend with cousinPrince Harry), founded The Anti-Slavery Collective in 2017 with her friend Julia de Boinville to combat modern slavery and trafficking.
Prince Andrew.STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty
In 2012,Princess Eugenieand Julia traveled to India together where they visited an organization called Women’s Interlink Foundation and “first became aware of modern slavery.”
“We were shocked to discover the extent to which slavery still exists. In fact, there are more enslaved people today than at any other point in history and, at any one time, someone is being trafficked within a mile of where you live. We often associate slavery with chains and shackles, but modern slavery is a hidden crime that is often hard to detect,” they previously said on Instagram.
In January, the two women announced they werelaunching a podcastin connection to their organization.
Prince Andrew announced in Nov. 2019 that he would “step back from public dutiesfor the foreseeable future” following hisbombshell interview with the BBCabout his ties to Epstein.
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“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support,” he said in the statement. “Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”
source: people.com
