On Wednesday, Britain’s Prince Andrew lost his bid to dismiss a U.S. federal lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, a woman who claims the Duke of York sexually abused her when she was 17 years old.
But that isn’t the only loss the 61-year-old royal is facing this week.
Just one day after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Andrew would have to wait for his day in court to counter the accusations against him, Buckingham Palace released a statement revealing that Queen Elizabeth’s son has also lost several of his royal distinctions.
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen," the statement read. "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."
The brief message was the only comment from the palace.
The prince first pledged to step away from public duties, with the queen's permission, in 2019, after it became clear that his past association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had become a “major distraction” to the work of the royal family.
Giuffre, who is seeking unspecified damages in her suit against Andrew, alleges Epstein and the recently convicted Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sex with Andrew three times in the 1990s.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
