PRINCE Andrew felt ambushed into giving up his royal titles and is increasingly frustrated at being silenced by his settlement with Virginia Giuffre, it has been revealed.
His accuser dropped her case against top US lawyer Alan Dershowitz last week, saying she “may have made a mistake” in claiming he abused her.
Prince Andrew felt ambushed into giving up his royal titles
Anrew is increasingly frustrated at being silenced by his settlement with Virginia Giuffre
Andrew with Virginia Roberts, 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell’s London townhouse
Now, sources close to the Duke of York, 62, say he feels constrained by his own legal agreement with Ms Giuffre, the high-profile victim of late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and wants to fight back.
The Celeb Report on Sunday can also reveal Andrew felt blindsided when he was urged to resign from royal life in meetings with senior aides in January.
A source recalled: “It was like a pressure cooker. There was no room to breathe.
“He didn’t understand the consequences. He was essentially forced to step down. He felt ambushed.”
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The catalyst for giving back his royal titles and patronages came on January 12, when the judge overseeing Ms Giuffre’s legal action in New York rejected Andrew’s application to throw out the case.
The next day the Duke was summoned to Windsor Castle, where sources say he felt he was ambushed by a trio of senior royal aides.
Those present were Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, who has stayed on in his role for the King, the then-Lord Chamberlain, Lord Andrew Parker and Sir Michael Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse.
Under “immense pressure”, Andrew agreed to fight the case as a private citizen.
But he was led to believe his titles and patronages would be put on hold “under the protection of his mother” until his legal affairs were in order.
Insiders claim even the Queen thought the settlement of the case would be a temporary setback for Andrew and hoped to see a pathway for him back to public life.
But all motherly attempts to help him were refused by “the forces”, it has been claimed.
The Queen is said to have told one insider she was devastated about the situation, which remained unresolved right up until her death.
A source said: “The horrific settlement was on her mind until the very end.
“The Queen always wanted to help her son.”
Her death in September hit the Duke of York hard and, according to sources, made him feel even more isolated from the rest of his family.
Those close to him have accused senior royals of cruelty as the Duke of York dealt with his grief, saying they sent only “messengers bearing bad news” to deal with him.
An insider said: “Not one member of his family bothered to check if he was alive.”
Reports have suggested that Andrew, who still lives at Royal Lodge in Windsor with former wife Sarah Ferguson, is depressed, in “bad shape” and “completely lost”.
However those close to him suggest that, far from being depressed, the Duke of York is “regaining his strength and ready to fight”.
He has lost a considerable amount of weight and was spotted looking trim out riding in Windsor, with poppies pinned to his horse’s bridle.
The Prince spent the run-up to Remembrance Day talking to veterans on the phone and working with The Foundation for Liver Research.
Last week, for the first time since he lost his mother, he even went out for dinner.
But just how Andrew will stage his fightback remains under discussion.
He signed a gagging order which stops him from denying that he had sex with Giuffre when she was 17.
She claims she was held as a sex slave by Epstein and abused by him, his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and members of their social circle over a number of years.
Her case against Andrew was settled out of court in February after Prince Charles, now King, urged him to “see sense”.
Within a few days the duke made his deal but did not accept any guilt.
However, the terms of the settlement have left him “frustrated that he cannot say his piece”, sources claim.
Ms Giuffre also sued Mr Dershowitz in 2019, alleging he defamed her when he denied claims she had been trafficked to the attorney by Epstein between 2000 and 2002.
But she agreed to drop the allegations on Tuesday and admitted she “may have made a mistake” when she also accused him of sexual abuse.
It is understood that Andrew and Dershowitz are communicating with each other through a third party.
The lawyer has long argued that Andrew should have fought his case against Ms Giuffre.
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He said: “Andrew should have not settled.
“He should have fought for the truth like me.”
- Daphne Barak is a documentary filmmaker who has interviewed the likes of Nelson Mandela, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz has long argued that Andrew should have fought his case against Ms Giuffre
