The Queen's Drastic Reaction to Prince Andrew's "Seismic" Controversy Revealed

Ever since Queen Elizabeth gave birth to the heir to the throne in 1948, she has been in a very unique predicament. While most mothers intuitively find themselves putting their children first and are willing to go to any lengths to protect them, Her Majesty is also in charge of protecting the entire institution of the British Monarchy. Therefore, when her children get themselves embroiled in scandal, she is forced to handle the situation diplomatically, which might not always fare well for her children. Prince Andrew learned this first hand after getting involved in a scandal which could have been catastrophic for the Royals.

Prince Andrew was a longtime friend of accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with the two being photographed together around the world. After Epstein's sex scandal exploded, Andrew's reputation was definitely singed. However, the entire world was shocked about what happened next. 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein's main accusers, claimed she was the victim of sex trafficing and abuse when she was underage. In 2015, she accused the Prince of sexual abuse over a period of time in 2001 in London, Manhattan, and the US Virgin Islands. She even had a photo of the Royal with his arm around her.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," a court document filed by his legal team said. "Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

Andrew went on to engage in an interview with BBC Newsnight, which was disastrous. In it, he maintained that he had "no recollection" of meeting Giuffre, categorically denying the accusations. He even claimed that when one incident took place, he was at a restaurant in Woking with family members. He also denied specific details, including that he sweated heavily while dancing at a nightclub, by maintaining that he had a medical condition that prevented him from sweating. 

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The Times Royal correspondent Valentine Low explains that his mother, Queen Elizabeth, was forced to act promptly to "protect the institution," which she will do that above all else. "We saw this with Prince Andrew," he said. "The damage from that was immediate and seismic. It was a very small number of days before he was stepping down from his royal duties. He went from a working Prince in the Royal Family to nothing." Andrew was stripped of his military titles and patronages, and has since remained out of the public eye for the most part. Eventually, Andrew settled with his accuser, with no admission of guilt.