What’s next for Prince Andrew, cast out into the royal wilderness?

LONDON — Stripped of his scarlet tunics and achromatic plumes, his subject titles and honorary patronages, and formed speech by his lifelong protector — his mother, his queen — Britain’s Prince Andrew present finds himself successful the royal wilderness, and courtiers accidental determination is nary mode back.

His friendships with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, some convicted for sexually exploiting teenage girls, person created the biggest situation for the House of Windsor since the decease of Princess Diana. The royal household has stood by Andrew for much than a decennary since the first scandalous headlines, portion the prince repeatedly denied each accusations. But aft a justice successful New York ruled this past week that a intersexual maltreatment suit against him tin determination forward, the palace made wide that helium volition combat this alone, “as a backstage citizen.”

He volition stay a prince, yes — ninth successful line to the throne. He’s inactive Duke of York, for now. But without the pomp and circumstance, without the subject finery helium has swaddled himself in. Speeches, ribbon cuttings, parades, commercialized missions overseas and applause? Officially gone, alongside usage of the honorific “His Royal Highness.”

This is simply a large twelvemonth for the British royal family, arsenic Queen Elizabeth II prepares to observe an unprecedented 70 years connected the throne, her Platinum Jubilee. But Andrew astir surely won’t thrust alongside his mother’s aureate carriage oregon question to the adoring crowds from a balcony. As Buckingham Palace pronounced connected Thursday, with the queen’s approval, “The Duke of York volition proceed not to undertake immoderate nationalist duties.”

While Prince Harry and Meghan were freed of constraints connected making extracurricular money erstwhile they mislaid their royal titles, Andrew’s autumn doesn’t permission him with overmuch leverage for that.

Palace watchers envision a benignant of 21st period banishment, an “internal exile” for the 61-year-old duke.

He whitethorn beryllium allowed to stay astatine Royal Lodge, wherever helium lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. With 30 rooms, including 7 bedrooms, it’s hardly a atrocious spot to person to spread up. Even arsenic helium laic debased determination the past mates years, helium would proceed to thrust his $100,000 Range Rover hybrid implicit to Windsor Castle, conscionable 3 miles away, to thrust horses connected the grounds oregon person luncheon with his mum.

But Dickie Arbiter, the queen’s erstwhile backstage secretary, said helium wouldn’t expect Andrew instrumentality to immoderate nationalist role. Even if the prince were to triumph the lawsuit, excessively overmuch harm has been done.

“As I spot it, there’s nary mode backmost for him arsenic an progressive subordinate of the royal family,” helium said. “There aren’t galore options near for him.”

Arbiter added that Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his lad Prince William would person been progressive successful the determination to portion Andrew of his titles and patronages.

Arbiter speculated that Andrew whitethorn soon merchantability his skis chalet successful the Swiss Alps to assistance money mounting ineligible costs. “I can’t spot the queen digging her manus into her pocket” connected this, helium said.

As acold arsenic the lawsuit, ineligible experts contend that Andrew whitethorn person nary existent prime but to settee the civilian lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, 1 of Epstein’s victims, who says she was trafficked to Andrew connected 3 occasions, starting erstwhile she was 17.

Going connected trial, successful the media hothouse of New York City, the experts say, would beryllium excessively perilous.

“The lone mode Andrew stops contagion to the royal family, which has already started, is by settling,” said Mark Stephens, a salient media lawyer. “He has to propulsion himself connected the judicial manus grenade that was thrown into the mediate of the royal household successful bid to support the wider royal family.”

Stephens estimated that a colony mightiness apical $10 million.

Amber Melville-Brown, a situation manager and a spouse astatine Withers instrumentality steadfast successful New York and London, said she could spot Andrew deciding either mode — to settee oregon spell guardant with the suit. “With truthful overmuch lost, Prince Andrew whitethorn see helium has thing to suffer but to proceed to trial,” to question full vindication, she said. Or helium “may privation to bash each successful his powerfulness to origin nary further harm to himself, and not further to tarnish the sanction of the royal family.”

Nick Goldstone, a ineligible commentator and caput of quality solution astatine Ince instrumentality steadfast successful London, noted that portion English instrumentality relies chiefly connected written witnesser statements, U.S. courts thin to impact videotaped depositions. If the suit proceeded toward a autumn tribunal date, Andrew could soon find himself being pressed by lawyers, nether oath, astir the astir intimate details of his backstage life. “A grueling acquisition that I bash not deliberation Andrew would privation to experience,” Goldstone said.

Andrew has claimed helium does not callback ever gathering Giuffre. He suggested to the BBC that a 2001 photograph — showing him with his limb astir Giuffre’s exposed midriff, portion Maxwell grins successful the inheritance — mightiness beryllium a fake. He said helium couldn’t person met Giuffre astatine Maxwell’s London townhouse that night, due to the fact that helium took his girl to a Pizza Express successful a suburb that evening. And helium said it’s intolerable that helium was the one, arsenic Giuffre claims, who sweated each implicit her connected a nightclub creation floor, since an incidental erstwhile helium was a chopper aviator successful the Falklands War prevented his quality to sweat.

“They’ll inquire astir the pizza party,” Goldstone said. “They’ll question grounds from his daughter. They’ll inquire for grounds that helium doesn’t sweat.”

Fair game, too, would beryllium questions astir however the prince came to gain the nickname “Randy Andy,” what his parent the queen advised, and friendships with Epstein and Maxwell.

Giuffre’s lawyers connected Friday told the tribunal they wanted to instrumentality grounds from Andrew’s erstwhile assistant, Robert Olney, arsenic good arsenic a pistillate who allegedly saw prince successful the nightclub.

If the lawsuit proceeds, the duke’s lawyers could besides question grounds to undercut Giuffre’s claims oregon to formed her successful a harsh light. Such a strategy has its ain risks.

Legal experts accidental Andrew could inactive effort to get the suit thrown out, based connected arguments different than what the justice rejected this past week. The prince could besides determine to efficaciously disregard the suit, successful which lawsuit determination could beryllium a “default judgment” against him, with damages awarded by the judge.

Nigel Cawthorne, writer of “Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace,” said Andrew could effort to usage the queen’s jubilee arsenic justification for settling. “He could say, ‘We volition settee this, due to the fact that it’s overshadowing my mother’s jubilee.’ He has the cleanable excuse. But the British nationalist volition ask, ‘Where does the 5 cardinal lb [settlement] travel from? Is it retired of your pocket?’ ”

Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, told the BBC this past week that the lawsuit is not astir the money.

“I deliberation it's precise important to Virginia Giuffre that this substance beryllium resolved successful a mode that vindicates her and vindicates the different victims,” helium said.

In a 2009 settlement, unsealed this month, Giuffre was awarded $500,000 from Epstein, but helium did not admit immoderate guilt.

Legal experts fishy she would request immoderate benignant of apology from Andrew.

“A purely fiscal colony is not thing I deliberation she is funny in,” her lawyer said.

On Twitter connected Thursday, Giuffre thanked her “extraordinary” ineligible team, writing, “their determination helps maine question justness from those who wounded maine and truthful galore others.”

She continued: “My extremity has ever been to amusement that the affluent and almighty are not supra the instrumentality & indispensable beryllium held accountable. I bash not locomotion this way alone, but alongside countless different survivors of intersexual maltreatment & trafficking.”

Cawthorne suggested that Andrew had a blinkered presumption of the world, which possibly helps explicate immoderate of the prince’s past remarks, specified arsenic erstwhile helium described Epstein’s behaviour as, simply, “unbecoming.” Epstein was a convicted enactment offender, who earlier helium died by termination successful 2019 faced further charges for trafficking dozens of girls and engaging successful enactment acts with them.

Cawthorne said, “If you are calved down palace gates, and by the clip you tin locomotion and speech and everyone is bowing and scraping and calling you ‘your royal highness,’ than you indispensable get a alternatively distorted presumption of the world, and you tin presume you tin get distant with anything, and that nary 1 volition ever archer you not to.”

Andrew was stripped of his titles aft much than 150 British veterans wrote to the queen, calling her lad an embarrassment. Alexander Wardrop, 72, was 1 of the veterans who signed the letter.

“It’s simple, it’s astir honor,” said the retired service officer. “There was ever 1 maxim for the British army, that is grant is the astir important thing. To enactment honorably. If nether suspicion, you basal up and beryllium accounted, oregon resign. I don’t o.k. of anecdotal grounds oregon proceedings by the property oregon radical who don’t person evidence. But erstwhile it becomes evident that thing isn’t rather right, past you don’t tally distant from it.”

Shayna Jacobs successful New York contributed to this report.