‘The Royal Family’s worst nightmare’ – What next for Prince Andrew? Palace Confidential Royal news

The news that Prince Andrew is to face a civil sexual abuse trial in the US is the ‘Royal Family’s worst nightmare and there’s no easy way out’.

That’s the view of The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden, who says the attitude of the Duke of York – who strongly denies all allegations against him – has worsened the situation.

He says: ‘I think all the way along, he’s promised people – his own mother – “Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out, there’s no merit in it”; he’s promised his daughters, his ex-wife and now here we are, faced with a trial.’

This programme was recorded
before the announcement that Andrew would hand his remaining military affiliations and royal patronages back to the Queen

.

His is a view shared by The Mail on Sunday’s Editor-at-Large, Charlotte Griffiths.

‘The problem with Andrew is that he is a walking PR disaster,’ she says. ‘It’s because of this pomposity and brashness, and overconfidence that everything will be OK, and unfortunately that has now come to an end.’

The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English says the gravity of the situation is starting to hit home for everyone.

‘We’ve got so used to the lurid headlines over this. Every now and then, we have to take a step back and realise that a member of the British Royal Family is being accused of rape and sexual assault; it’s a very serious allegation,’ she says.

‘One legal expert summed it up brilliantly yesterday, saying, “Andrew only has bad options in front of him”, and now it’s up to him to decide which of the bad options he’s going to pursue.’

We also hear from Stephen Wright, Associate Editor at The Daily Mail, who has spent many months in the US following the case. He says that if it went to trial, the evidence of Andrew’s police protection could be key.

‘I am certain that [Virginia Giuffre’s] legal team will want to get access to the work records of Scotland Yard’s royal protection team – he had at least one officer with him at any one time as he travelled overseas,’ he says.

‘That’s key for them building a picture of who knows what, because Prince Andrew claims he can’t remember even meeting – cannot even remember – Virginia Roberts.’

He adds that, despite the hype, he believes it won’t reach court. ‘I’m going to stick my neck out here and say I think there will be a settlement; this will not get to court in New York, that is my firm prediction. I cannot see any circumstance where the evidence in this case will be heard in public.’