Once the Queen’s favorite son, Prince Andrew‘s disgraceful downfall is nothing short of dramatically chaotic. From war hero to royal pariah, the Duke of York’s journey through scandal has captivated the public and has caused major turmoil within the British monarchy, as well as irreparable damage to the institution’s reputation.
In light of recent events surrounding the removal of even more of Prince Andrew’s privileges, let’s take a trip down memory lane to understand just how he ended up in this situation.
The Epstein connection
Prince Andrew’s troubles began with his ill-fated association with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose death in a Manhattan jail in 2019 only intensified scrutiny of his high-profile connections. The prince’s relationship with Epstein, which reportedly started in the 1990s, first raised eyebrows in 2011. However, it wasn’t until Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, leveled serious accusations against Andrew that the situation escalated from embarrassing to potentially criminal.
Giuffre’s allegations were nothing short of explosive. She claimed Andrew had sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was just 17 — accusations the prince denied. In fact, Andrew insisted he had no recollection of even meeting Giuffre, despite the existence of a photograph showing them together, with Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein’s former girlfriend and convicted accomplice) in the background.
The scandal deepened when Johanna Sjoberg, another Epstein victim, alleged in a 2016 deposition that Prince Andrew had groped her breast during a visit to Epstein’s New York home in 2001. Buckingham Palace dismissed these claims as “categorically untrue,” but the damage to Andrew’s reputation was already done.
The Newsnight interview: A royal PR disaster
In what will likely go down in history as one of the most catastrophic attempts at damage control, Prince Andrew agreed to a televised interview with BBC’s Emily Maitlis in 2019. The result was a PR nightmare.
During the interview, Andrew displayed a startling lack of empathy for Epstein’s victims and made several claims that stretched his credibility to its breaking point. For one, he insisted he couldn’t have been sweating profusely during the alleged acts, as Giuffre had described, because he had a medical condition that prevented him from sweating. He also claimed he was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night of one of the assaults, a detail so specific and yet so mundane that it immediately became fuel for ridicule.
But maybe what was most damning was Andrew’s failure to express any remorse for his friendship with Epstein. Instead, he described Epstein’s behavior as merely “unbecoming”, a characterization that seemed woefully inadequate given the severity of Epstein’s crimes.
The fallout, explained
The aftermath of the Newsnight interview brutal. Public outrage reached a fever pitch and citizens were on the verge of storming Buckingham Palace with torches and pitch forks. Andrew had little choice but to step back from public duties to placate the public. In January 2022, the final blow came when Queen Elizabeth stripped her son of his military titles and patronages.
In February 2022, Andrew paid what’s widely believed to be millions of dollars to settle Giuffre’s sexual assault case out of court. While the settlement accepted no liability and Andrew continued to strongly deny any wrongdoing, in the court of public opinion, the damage was already done.
As if his personal troubles weren’t enough, Andrew now faces pressure on the home front. King Charles, his older brother, reportedly wants him out of his 30-room Royal Lodge residence in Windsor Great Park. The King’s preference is for Andrew to move to the more modest five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage, previously occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
To add insult to injury, Charles is set to stop funding Andrew’s security detail, which costs an estimated $4 million annually. This move is particularly significant as it comes after Andrew lost his police protection in 2022.
The Media Circus
The prince’s multiple disgraces have proven to be irresistible to filmmakers. Netflix’s Scoop and Amazon’s A Very Royal Scandal both recreated the infamous Newsnight interview, offering dramatized behind-the-scenes accounts of the disastrous TV appearance.
The Amazon series, in particular, pulls no punches in its portrayal of Andrew. Actor Michael Sheen depicts the prince as a volatile mix of vanity, vulnerability, and a self-destructive lack of self-awareness. The series portrays Andrew as foul-mouthed, entitled, and arrogant – a depiction that some former staff members claim is not far from the truth.
These dramatizations have kept Andrew’s scandal in the public eye, much to his chagrin. However, the latest offering, A Very Royal Scandal, seems to have “sunk without a trace”, much to Andrew’s relief. A friend of the prince told reporters that Andrew hopes “these endless attacks on him will stop”.
Where does Andrew stand now?
As of 2024, Prince Andrew remains a controversial and largely isolated figure within the royal family. He continues to live at the Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, despite ongoing pressure to downsize to Frogmore Cottage.
The Duke of York has been noticeably absent from major royal events, including his brother’s coronation. His attempts to rehabilitate his image have largely fallen flat, with one royal expert, Angela Mollard, noting that “no amount of charitable work or outings at church with more upright members of the family are going to change” public perception.
Mollard argues that the longer Andrew “clings to the 30-room Royal Lodge instead of moving to the more modest five-bed Frogmore Cottage, the more likely it is that his daughters will be to some extent dragged down with him.”
This sentiment reflects a growing concern that Andrew’s scandal could have long-lasting effects on the younger generation of royals, particularly his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. While Prince Andrew may hope for an end to the scrutiny, it seems unlikely that the public, who seem increasingly skeptical of inherited privilege and power, will forget anytime soon.
