Prince Andrew has a lot of explaining to do Prince Andrew
Your article (Prince Andrew’s fall from grace complete with loss of monarchy, October 17) reflects a broader narrative that portrays the removal of Prince Andrew’s titles as a bold, moral act by the royal family, as if it solves the “Andrew problem.” In reality, this is too little, too late.
The posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre’s memoirs, along with the revelation of more of Jeffrey Epstein’s files, reveals the full extent of Andrew’s actions. Despite his denials, he continued his relationship with Epstein after Epstein was released from prison, writing: “Looks like we’re in this together… stay in touch and we’ll be playing more soon!!!!”
Virginia’s memoir describes in horrific detail the trafficking and sexual abuse of vulnerable girls – children living in poverty, in care, or homeless. If Andrew had been a Pakistani-origin taxi driver from Rotherham, public calls for a criminal investigation and imprisonment would have been overwhelming. But he’s mine, prince.
It is not cut. King Charles allowed his brother, accused of child sexual abuse, to live in a 30-room palace on the Windsor estate. The late queen reportedly helped her son pay millions to settle a claim with his victim while maintaining the illusion that he had never met her. It is clear that the monarchy only acted to protect its reputation, power and wealth. Meanwhile, Virginia, like many of the victims, committed suicide.
His release would mean removing all financial benefits, donating millions to survivor organizations, and fully cooperating with British and US authorities to ensure criminal investigations and accountability.
Professor Harry Ferguson
Emeritus Professor of Social Work, University of Birmingham
MP Rachel Maskell is asking for “a lot of clarity” over the £12million payment Prince Andrew paid to Virginia Giuffre. While many will no doubt be familiar with Andrew’s assertions of innocence, his inability to sweat, his ignorance of the exact location of the bar in Trump, and the famous dining arrangements at Pizza Express in Woking, I’m sure many will be anticipating with interest his explanation of why he paid such a huge sum to a woman he’d never met for something he never did.
Eddie Duggan
Ipswich, Suffolk