LONDON, ENGLAND.- That prince andrew, threatened with trial for sexual assault of a minor WE, has become so embarrassing that Isabel II he had no choice but to usurp his royal honor to protect the British monarchy.

The decision, announced Thursday by Buckingham Palace in a statement of brutal sobriety, it took the front pages of all British newspapers on Friday, highlighting the queen’s desire to “distance” but also the contempt meant for the prince.

“This is the survival of the royal institution at all costs,” he wrote Daily mail.

“It’s time to remove it further from the spotlight,” Bob Morris, historian of the monarchy, explained to AFP. In his opinion, “perhaps this is the end” for the Duke of York, who can no longer use the title of His Majesty.

The situation became untenable after a New York judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a civil suit accusing Andres, 61, of sexually abusing a minor, Virginia Giuffre, in the 2000s, a case related to his friendship. humiliating with the late financier and son being punished. molester Jeffrey Epstein.

Pressure from some 150 soldiers who have written to the queen to denounce the lack of “honesty, honesty and honorable behavior” of her third son – who is considered her favourite -, ninth in the line of succession to the British throne, is also affecting.

big shame

“It is a disgrace that the military retiree is demanding the revocation of the title. It is a disgrace and a disservice to the queen (who is the head of the armed forces, ndlr), because otherwise she appears to be protecting her son,” said Penny Junor, author of many books on the British monarchy.

“It’s time to go to plan B, to protect the monarchy and celebrate the platinum anniversary, 70 years of reign that Elizabeth II will celebrate in June,” Morris added.

Celebrations in honor of the 95-year-old monarch will span four days, with military parades, concerts in London, dessert contests and big popular parties.

The ruler, who appears less and less in public, will make this decision after speaking with Carlos, the heir to the crown, and his grandson, Prince William, who were in Windsor on Wednesday, according to the British press.

“I imagine Carlos and Guillermo forced him in some way,” Junor told AFP. “It’s detrimental to the monarchy.”

The monarchy has had relatively little criticism in Britain, thanks to the popularity of Elizabeth II, which has remained unchanged despite several crises of recent years.

But the future is far more uncertain, as his heir, Carlos, remains little loved by the British people.

“Scapegoat”

Andrés will be summoned on Thursday at Windsor Castle, where he will be traveling by car with his lawyer. She lived five kilometers away, in the Royal Lodge, the former home of the queen mother.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” thought Deborah Jane Paul, an accountant from London. “It’s humiliating His Majesty, it’s unfair (…) and I think he has behaved very well” with her.

Whatever the outcome of the civil court in New York – where the option of an out-of-court financial agreement still exists – will be addressed “personally to Prince Andrew, not to the monarchy,” Morris warned. “Andres is the scapegoat of the family, but the family will move on.”

The prince has been away from public life since a disastrous television interview in 2019, when he denied all charges against him, without showing the slightest empathy for the victims or any remorse for his friendship with her. Epstein.

On Friday, a government official declined to say whether his security devices would still be paid for by taxpayers.

It is also unclear whether he will be able to attend a ceremony at Westminster Abbey planned for the spring in memory of his father, Prince Philip, who died in April.