The late Queen Elizabeth II’s true feelings about her second son, Prince Andrew, emerged in a statement issued before her death in 2022. The 65-year-old announced last week that he will relinquish the use of his remaining titles and honours – including his Duke of York title – with immediate effect.
The decision came after his association with convicted paedophile sex offender Jeffrey Epstein returned to the headlines, as well as his links with an alleged Chinese spy. It has long been claimed that Andrew was the late Queen’s favourite child, but one royal author has now said that she had a “notable blind spot” when it came to him.
Despite her upset over her son’s circumstances, the late Queen, along with the agreement of several senior royals, decided something had to be done about Andrew when a civil case was brought against him by Virginia Giuffre. The late Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, was one of the victims of sex trafficking and abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful associates.
In her memoir, which was released earlier this week, Virginia detailed her first sexual encounter with Andrew – as well as number of other occasions.
After his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew was forced to step down from royal duties – but the palace knew they had to take it a step further.
A statement released at the time read: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will not undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
According to Omid Scobie’s book, titled Endgame, Andrew “knew the jig was up” when he was “summoned” to see his mother.
A family source was quoted as saying: “He knew it was coming. But given that he also needed to be saved from embarrassment in the courthouse, it was a small price to pay.”
Mr Scobie added: “At the appropriate entry point to Her Majesty’s quarters, an awaiting courtier instructed him to enter the building alone. Andrew had brought his longtime and trusted criminal defense lawyer, Gary Bloxsome, in the hopes that he could help negotiate with his family, but the Queen’s aide made it clear that the criminal defense solicitor should wait in the car.”
The late Queen was reportedly left feeling “genuinely sad” – especially with it all happening so soon after losing her husband, Prince Philip.