The news that Prince Andrew is the subject of a sexual assault and battery lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre has rocked the House of Windsor. Giuffre, who claims she was a victim of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein, claims the duke had sex with her when she was 17 years old. In what has already been another “annus horribilis” for Queen Elizabeth and, by extension, the rest of the Royal Family, this latest royal scandal has thrown the Palace into chaos.
The Palace has tried to keep Andrew out of the spotlight since his disastrous 2019 BBC interview in which he attempted to explain away his friendship with Epstein. Andrew stepped down from his royal duties as a result of the interview’s fallout, and his patronages were lost as a result. Since then, Palace aides have been so determined to keep Andrew away from the rest of the Royal Family that he was absent from official photographs taken at his daughter Princess Beatrice’s wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July of last year. Despite the fact that he was present, he was not photographed in the wedding photos, which instead featured the Queen and Prince Philip.
However, keeping Andrew out of the public eye does not negate the fact that his relationship with Epstein and the stunning new lawsuit filed against him could have a negative impact on the Royal Family. While the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William are concerned about the long-term effects of the scandal on the monarchy’s future, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are not immune to the scandal in the United States. Continue reading to learn about the one major way the Duke of York’s lawsuit could affect the Sussexes, despite the fact that they’ve put an ocean between themselves and the scandal.
The Royal Family’s most ardent supporter, who was once Harry and Meghan’s greatest ally, will now have to focus her efforts on Andrew.
Princess Eugenie is reportedly lending her support behind the scenes to Harry and his much-anticipated memoir, which could have long-term implications for possibly healing the royal schism between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family. “Eugenie’s support of Harry writing a memoir could be a game-changer,” a Palace source told Best Life recently, “because a show of support from within the Royal Family would most certainly lend more credibility to whatever he chooses to reveal and could possibly result in a change in strategy in how the Palace responds.”
Now, however, that her father is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, accusing him of complicity in the late convicted sex offender’s criminal acts, Eugenie may feel it’s best to shift her focus and lend all her support to her father for a variety of reasons. “Eugenie has been Harry’s greatest ally since he and Meghan decided to step away from their royal duties,” a source told Best Life, “but now, just as it’s come to light that she’s helping her cousin work on his memoir, her father [is] being accused of sexual assault in this new lawsuit.” The source went on to say: “Of course, she wants to be there for Andrew and be a part of the family’s decision-making process. Eugenie has a close relationship with her father. She might also be wary of dragging Harry’s name into all of this in the media by association. She’s a lovely person, and it’s heartbreaking to see her in such a bad situation.”
Prince Harry has made it clear that he wants to keep his distance from Andrew’s legal troubles.
Harry has made some (inadvertent) public remarks about Andrew’s relationship with Epstein, as well as his desire to distance himself and Meghan from the scandal. On two separate occasions, Russian hoaxers duped the Duke of Sussex into thinking he was speaking on the phone with then-17-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg and her father, once on New Year’s Eve 2019 and again on Jan. 22, 2020.
When the pranksters inquired about his uncle’s legal woes as a result of his relationship with Epstein, Harry replied: “I don’t have much to say about it. But whatever he has done or hasn’t done has nothing to do with me or my wife. We operate in an inclusive manner and place a strong emphasis on community. As a result, we are completely cut off from the rest of my family.”
Because of their parents’ actions, Harry and Eugenie have both been subjected to ruthless tabloid coverage.
Harry and Eugenie have been engulfed in the tabloid coverage of their parents’ scandals since they were both children. Harry has spoken openly about the trauma he and William experienced as a result of their parents’ acrimonious divorce, including their publicised affairs. Eugenie and her sister, Beatrice, have defended Andrew’s scandal-plagued marriage to their mother, Sarah, Duchess of York, which included her expulsion from the Royal Family due to her extramarital affairs. Eugenie and Beatrice’s father is now accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl, and she was caught on camera taking bribes in exchange for access to Andrew.
Even if Eugenie’s attention is diverted from Harry, the cousins will always have “a lot of love.”
According to one insider, despite recent events that will dramatically shift Eugenie’s focus, she and Harry will always be close. “Harry and Eugenie understand each other in a way that other members of the family cannot,” the source said. “They’ve had to put on brave faces to support their parents while internally grappling with everything that’s happened as a result. It’s for this reason that they’re so close. Eugenie will understand if she is unable to assist in the healing of the rift between Harry and the rest of the family due to the issues she is currently facing with her father. There’s a lot of love in that place.”
