The other scandals of Prince Andrew, the favorite son of Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Andrew of England agreed to give a sworn statement on March 10 in the United Kingdom as part of the case of sexual abuse of a minor filed against him by Virginia Giuffre in a New York court.

Giuffre alleges that she was a victim of the late businessman Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network, which led her to have sex with Elizabeth II’s son when she was 17 years old.

The Duke of York has always denied the accusations and has said he does not know Giuffre, despite the fact that the media have repeatedly released an old photograph in which he appears grabbing her by the waist with Ghislaine Maxwell, the right hand of Jeffrey Epstein, in the background, while they all look at the camera.

This is not the first time that the duke, whom the media claim is Isabel II’s favorite and came to fight in the Malvinas war against Argentina (1982), is the center of controversy.

Air-Miles Andy

The prince earned the nickname ‘Air-Miles Andy’ due to his extravagance, frequently using helicopters and planes on engagements for which he could have traveled by train or car.

In 2003, he was reported to have amassed 325,000 pounds ($439,691) in flights, including using a helicopter to fly to Oxford and Royal Air Force (RAF) planes to fly to Scotland to play golf; in 2004, he used an RAF jet to fly around Northern Ireland, where he allegedly also played golf and attended a royal garden party.

While in 2009, he used the Queen’s helicopter for a 234-kilometre trip to engagements in the same area. That same year she also flew from Windsor to Kent for a golf party. While in 2014 the prince visited 15 countries, despite the fact that since 2011 he was no longer the commercial envoy of the United Kingdom.

Relationship with ex-wife

In this case it is not the protagonist, but it involves Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife who still lives with him.

In 2010, the Duchess was involved in an operation of News of the Worldconfronting the newspaper’s undercover reporter, Mazher Mahmood, the so-called “fake sheikh”.

She was recorded promising to secure business access for her ex-husband, then Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment, for the hefty sum of £500,000 (about $800,000).

When the scandal came to light, Sarah publicly apologized for her “serious lack of judgement”, which she claimed was due to her difficult “financial situation”.

She paid back the down payment she had received and offered to move out of the house she still shared with her ex-husband. He claimed that “the Duke of York was not aware of or involved in any of the discussions that occurred.”

your friends

Quite apart from his friendship with Epstein, Prince Andrew has often been criticized for his controversial associations.

In 2008, Elizabeth II’s son met with Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. He then had lunch with Gaddafi’s chief of staff, Bashir Saleh, the following year, after giving a seminar at St. James’s Palace for the dictator’s Libyan Africa investment portfolio.

In 2011, Andres also hosted a Buckingham Palace lunch for Sakher el-Materi, a billionaire businessman and son-in-law of now-deposed Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Materi subsequently fled Tunisia, where he was convicted of crimes including embezzlement and misuse of state funds, possession of illegal drugs and weapons, and corruption in absentia.

Another suspicious friend is controversial British financier David ‘Spotty’ Rowland, who has faced criticism due to his former status as a tax exile. But the millionaire has clearly proven himself a useful friend; it is believed that he provided thousands of pounds to help pay off Sarah’s debts and allowed Andrew to use his luxury jet while he performed his royal duties.

controversial interview

During an interview broadcast in November 2019 by the BBCthe second son of Queen Elizabeth II spoke of his links with Epstein, and “categorically” denied the accusations against him.

“I can tell you categorically, emphatically, that this never happened,” said Prince Andrew, who said he was willing to testify in court “in propitious circumstances.”

The prince acknowledged that his relations with Epstein could have put the royal family in a bind, but then said he did not believe he had damaged the reputation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The press particularly mocked the alibi of the prince, who claimed that he was in a restaurant belonging to a pizza express chain on the day of the events described by Giuffre. An unusual place for a member of the British royal family.

When Giuffre described him as sweaty dancing in a London club in 2001, he said it was impossible, according to him because of an illness due to an adrenaline rush when he was in the Falklands war in 1982.

He was also criticized for the language he used during the interview, such as the fact that he presented himself as “too honorable” to explain that he had seen Epstein in 2010 after his conviction, according to him to cut ties. Or even when he called his friend’s behavior “inappropriate.”

Retired and no titles

Shortly after the controversial interview, the prince announced his retirement from public life. While in this 2022, the queen took away his military titles and royal patronage from him. (I)