Kabar Medsos – Britain’s Prince Andrew has returned his military affiliations and royal patronages to Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Thursday.
This comes a day after the royal’s lawyers failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that accuses him of sexual abuse.
“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 said.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen,” it said.
As a result Andrew will no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity, a royal source told NBC News.
Andrew served in Britain’s Royal Navy, and he flew a number of missions in the British-Argentine war of 1982, which was fought over the remote Falkland Islands.
The 73-day conflict that claimed the lives of 904 people took place after Argentina tried to reclaim the South American islands from the U.K.
Andrew remained on active duty after the war ended, and while most of his service was in naval aviation, he also commanded a mine countermeasures warship. Promoted to commander in 1999, he retired from active service two years later.
The royal’s reputation has been tarnished in recent years because of his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his confidant, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of five federal sex trafficking charges last month in New York City.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement about Andrew’s titles after a judge in the United States on Wednesday rejected his bid to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges that he sexually abused her when she was 17 years old.
Giuffre, now 38, has alleged that Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with Andrew in the 1990s.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegation.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan for the Southern District of New York ruled that it was premature to consider the prince’s efforts to cast doubt on Giuffre’s accusations, though he would be allowed to do so at a trial.
Andrew’s lawyers had tried earlier this month to block the lawsuit and released details of a legal settlement in which she took $500,000 from the financier not to bring further legal action.
They had previously tried to block the lawsuit on the grounds that Giuffre lives in Australia and not the United States. That was also rejected by a federal judge.
A source close to Prince Andrew said they were “unsurprised” by Kaplan’s ruling. “However, it was not a judgment on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations. This is a marathon not a sprint and the Duke will continue to defend himself against these claims,” they added.
In a 2019 interview with the BBC, Andrew said he has “no recollection” of ever having met Giuffre. He also suggested that a photograph of them together with Maxwell could have been doctored.
But Giuffre’s suit alleges that Andrew abused her at three locations — in London and New York and at Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, when she was under age 18. It mirrors claims that Giuffre previously detailed to NBC’s “Dateline.”
Pangeran Andrew dihapus dari afiliasi militer oleh Ratu Elizabeth
Kabar Medsos – Pangeran Inggris Andrew telah mengembalikan afiliasi militer dan perlindungan kerajaannya kepada Ratu Elizabeth II, kata Istana Buckingham dalam sebuah pernyataan, Kamis.
Ini terjadi sehari setelah pengacara kerajaan gagal membujuk seorang hakim AS untuk membatalkan gugatan perdata yang menuduhnya melakukan pelecehan seksual.
“Dengan persetujuan dan persetujuan Ratu, afiliasi militer Duke of York dan perlindungan Kerajaan telah dikembalikan kepada Ratu,” kata pernyataan itu.
“Duke of York akan terus tidak melakukan tugas publik dan membela kasus ini sebagai warga negara,” katanya.
Akibatnya, Andrew tidak akan lagi menggunakan gaya “Yang Mulia” dalam kapasitas resmi apa pun, kata seorang sumber kerajaan kepada NBC News.
Andrew bertugas di Angkatan Laut Kerajaan Inggris, dan dia menerbangkan sejumlah misi dalam perang Inggris-Argentina tahun 1982, yang diperebutkan di Kepulauan Falkland yang terpencil.
Konflik 73 hari yang merenggut nyawa 904 orang terjadi setelah Argentina berusaha merebut kembali pulau-pulau Amerika Selatan dari Inggris.
Andrew tetap bertugas aktif setelah perang berakhir, dan meskipun sebagian besar dinasnya adalah penerbangan angkatan laut, ia juga memimpin kapal perang penanggulangan ranjau. Dipromosikan menjadi komandan pada tahun 1999, ia pensiun dari dinas aktif dua tahun kemudian.
Reputasi kerajaan telah ternoda dalam beberapa tahun terakhir karena hubungannya dengan terpidana pelaku kejahatan seks Jeffrey Epstein dan orang kepercayaannya, sosialita Inggris Ghislaine Maxwell, yang dinyatakan bersalah atas lima tuduhan perdagangan seks federal bulan lalu di New York City.
Istana Buckingham membuat pengumuman tentang gelar Andrew setelah seorang hakim di Amerika Serikat pada hari Rabu menolak tawarannya untuk menolak gugatan perdata yang diajukan terhadapnya oleh Virginia Giuffre, yang menuduh bahwa dia melakukan pelecehan seksual terhadapnya ketika dia berusia 17 tahun.
Giuffre, sekarang berusia 38 tahun, menuduh Epstein dan Maxwell memaksanya berhubungan seks dengan Andrew pada 1990-an.
Andrew telah berulang kali membantah tuduhan itu.
Hakim Distrik AS Lewis Kaplan untuk Distrik Selatan New York memutuskan bahwa terlalu dini untuk mempertimbangkan upaya sang pangeran untuk meragukan tuduhan Giuffre, meskipun ia akan diizinkan melakukannya di pengadilan.
Pengacara Andrew telah mencoba awal bulan ini untuk memblokir gugatan dan merilis rincian penyelesaian hukum di mana dia mengambil $ 500.000 dari pemodal untuk tidak membawa tindakan hukum lebih lanjut.
Mereka sebelumnya telah mencoba untuk memblokir gugatan dengan alasan bahwa Giuffre tinggal di Australia dan bukan Amerika Serikat. Itu juga ditolak oleh hakim federal.
Sebuah sumber yang dekat dengan Pangeran Andrew mengatakan mereka “tidak terkejut” dengan keputusan Kaplan. “Namun, itu bukan penilaian atas dasar tuduhan Ms Giuffre. Ini adalah maraton bukan sprint dan Duke akan terus membela diri terhadap klaim ini, ”tambah mereka.
Dalam wawancara tahun 2019 dengan BBC, Andrew mengatakan dia “tidak ingat” pernah bertemu Giuffre. Dia juga menyarankan bahwa foto mereka bersama Maxwell bisa saja dipalsukan.
Tapi gugatan Giuffre menuduh bahwa Andrew melecehkannya di tiga lokasi – di London dan New York dan di pulau pribadi Epstein di Kepulauan Virgin AS, ketika dia berusia di bawah 18 tahun. Ini mencerminkan klaim bahwa Giuffre sebelumnya merinci ke “Dateline” NBC.
