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Royal aides reportedly doubt Andrew
Prince Andrew rushed to Balmoral this week to see the queen, his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York at his side, after Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S, accusing him of sexually abusing her three times as a 17-year-old teenager while she was being allegedly trafficked by his former friend, Jeffrey Epstein.
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However, the support Andrew would expect from those closest to him appears to be ebbing away, after The U.K. Sunday Times reported that royal aides think there are “inconsistencies” and “credibility problems” in his account of having “no recollection” of knowing Giuffre—which infamously includes disavowing any knowledge of how he apparently came to be photographed beside her, his arm around her waist, with Ghislaine Maxwell in the background.
Giuffre claims Andrew knew she was underage at the time of the alleged incidents, which occurred first she says at Maxwell’s London home, then at Epstein’s New York and Caribbean homes.
The Times says palace lawyers are “desperate” for the case not to go trial in America, because they don’t think that jurors will believe Andrew’s denials. The paper also reported that Andrew’s legal bills are being underwritten by the queen herself.
A royal source told the Times, “There are inconsistencies in his own account and in the credibility of his own account. If it goes to trial in the MeToo era, it’s going to be challenging to swing a jury behind the duke.”
The reports of palace doubts came as the Sun on Sunday reported that Epstein’s former telecoms specialist is prepared to testify that he saw Andrew groping Giuffre on Epstein’s private island Little Saint James sometime between 2001 and 2004.
Steve Scully told The Sun on Sunday: “I was working on the phone and he (Andrew) was by the pool with Virginia. As soon as I saw him, I recognized him. I thought, ‘If I had a camera in my bag right now, I’d have a $50,000 picture.’” The paper reported that Andrew and Giuffre were “bumping and grinding” for several minutes before lying on lounge chairs by the pool.
Scully recalled Giuffre standing “like a kid would stand behind a parent,” opining that Andrew was now “protecting himself and his family. If Virginia’s lawyers call, I will definitely speak to them and I would give a deposition under oath telling them what I saw. The nice thing about the truth is that it doesn’t change! There’s no question in my mind that I saw Prince Andrew and Virginia together and no question that he would remember the incident either. He should come clean.”
Meanwhile, the Mirror reports that US legal staff had planned to serve Andrew court papers while he was out on his regular Windsor Palace horse ride—but Andrew had already departed for Balmoral.
A source close to the royal household told the Sunday Times: “No one at the palace knows what to believe about what Prince Andrew is telling them. Some of it doesn’t stack up. The basic problem is that he’s a massive embarrassment, but you can’t sack him. There are also questions over some of the legal advice he has been getting.”
Another royal source told the Mail on Sunday there was “bafflement” at the non-engagement strategy currently being employed by Andrew and his legal team.
A “well-placed palace insider” told the paper: “There’s a growing sense that his legal team need to say something, even if it is just to acknowledge that they are working on it. The Duke’s legal team is not doing him or the rest of the family any favors by being so taciturn.”
Another source said: “The Queen met with Andrew and no doubt asked him, ‘What are your lawyers saying? What’s the advice?’”
The Times reports that Andrew’s legal team “may now attempt to get the case thrown out, arguing that the New York court has no jurisdiction in the UK.”
That seems unlikely to stop Giuffre’s legal team advisers—led by David Boies. A source on that team told the Mail on Sunday of Andrew’s legal team: “If I was to give you one word which sums up the attitude from Prince Andrew and his side, it is ‘arrogance.’ No one out-bluffs David Boies. We gave them multiple times to respond, to come to the table to discuss this, and they ignored our letters, ignored our calls. They were given multiple opportunities to get together, to start a discussion and avoid any of this becoming public. There was nothing but a wall of silence.”
“Guilt money” for Bashir’s wrongs
The BBC is planning to pay out £1.5m to charities nominated by the royals to try and help make amends for its wrongdoing over the famous Panorama interview with Princess Diana conducted by Martin Bashir, the Mail on Sunday says. A damning inquiry into the interview found that Bashir used faked bank statements to convince Spencer family members that their staff were betraying them and selling information about Diana.
After an enquiry unequivocally slammed the BBC over the interview earlier this year, Prince Harry said that the interview set off a “ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices” which he said ultimately took his mother’s life. William said the interview “contributed significantly” to his mother’s “fear, paranoia and isolation.” The payment, described as “guilt money,” has been calculated on the basis of the amount the corporation made out of the interview
The man probably needs a wee drink
Prince Charles wore a kilt, knee high socks, and a sporran, and appreciatively knocked back a dram of whisky Saturday as he attended the Grampian Highland Games in Scotland. The event was a scaled-down version of its usual self, but at least it happened, which is more than can be said for the Braemar Games, which the royals usually attend, which was cancelled for a second year running over coronavirus fears, the Express reports. The outing might have provided some respite from ongoing crisis talks about Prince Andrew, who, as noted above, remains cloistered at Balmoral.
Daddy dearest
Meghan Markle’s dad Thomas has been back on the airwaves this weekend, launching fresh attacks on his daughter and her husband. In his latest salvo the Express reports that he told GB News he remains “confused” over why their relationship had broken down, before publicly accusing his daughter of “lying for years” saying, “Her lies are so obvious I don't know why she says them.”
Eyelid-scorching gossip, anyone?
Rachel Johnson, the journalist whose brother Boris is the British Prime Minister, wrote in British magazine The Oldie recently that when she was a young woman her love of spreading gossip was such that she was dubbed Radio Rachel by her friends. She then teases: “The other day I was told a piece of gossip (concerning a senior royal) so thermonuclear that it scorched the inside of my eyelids. It made me realize how much I’ve missed a good old chinwag during the pandemic—and how little I rate Eleanor Roosevelt’s apophthegm ‘Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.’”
What is the tea? Sadly, Johnson says, she can’t say because her brother’s position means she has become a “buttoned-up bore” and has ceased gossiping as she doesn’t “want to be blamed for anything that appears in the Sun or even The Times.” Spoilsport.
Moving forward
Charities and other organizations all over the world are trying to figure out their post-pandemic paths, and the Diana Award, which aims to help young people create positive change, launched a new five year plan this week with a few words from her son William.
“The lives of thousands of young people have been impacted by the global pandemic with education interrupted, work opportunities disrupted and social connections strained,” William said. “Yet many of the young people who I have been fortunate to meet over the last year have shown an enormous passion and commitment to helping their communities recover and rebuild—and beyond that, are working hard to tackle the social inequality and injustice that they see in the world around them.
“Organizations like The Diana Award have never been more important in nurturing the talent of young people and working with them to change the world for the better, by celebrating their successes; creating opportunities for growth; and ensuring that young people have a seat at the table. The world has changed significantly in the twenty years since The Diana Award was established in my mother’s memory, however challenges remain, and urgent change is needed so that young people inherit a world of which we can be proud.”
This week in royal history
A brief moment of royal happiness, perhaps. Happy birthday Princess Anne, who turns 71 today.
Unanswered questions
What will Prince Andrew and Buckingham Palace lawyers do next? Legal options seem to be limited when it comes to not confronting Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s lawsuit in some way. But equally we all know what happens when Prince Andrew opens his big mouth.
