Rachael Maskell York Central MP said Andrew was the “first to ever have their freedom removed”. On 29 October 2021, Andrew’s lawyers filed a response, stating that their client “unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations”. On 12 January 2022 Judge Kaplan rejected Andrew’s attempts to dismiss the case, allowing the sexual abuse lawsuit to proceed. In February, the case was settled out of court, with Andrew making a donation to Giuffre’s charity for victims of abuse. Criminal proceedings in the United States over Virginia Giuffre’s claims remained possible.
Andrew’s lease of Royal Lodge is for 75 years, with the Crown Estate as landlord, at a cost of a single £1 million premium and a commitment to spend £7.5 million on refurbishment. At the end of the war, Invincible returned to Portsmouth, where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip joined other families of the crew in welcoming the vessel home. The Argentine military government reportedly planned, but did not attempt, to assassinate Andrew on Mustique in July 1982. Though he had brief assignments to HMS Illustrious, RNAS Culdrose, and the Joint Services School of Intelligence, Prince Andrew remained with Invincible until 1983. Commander Nigel Ward’s memoir, Sea Harrier Over the Falklands, described Prince Andrew as “an excellent pilot and a very promising officer.”
In May 2020, it was reported that the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust was under investigation by the Charity Commission regarding some regulatory issues about £350,000 of payments to his former private secretary Amanda Thirsk. According to The Times, senior personnel in the navy and army considered Andrew to be an embarrassment for the military and believed he should be stripped of his military roles. In May 2020 it was announced that Andrew would permanently resign from all public roles over his Epstein ties. On 5 January 2022, Virginia Giuffre’s former boyfriend, Anthony Figueroa, said on Good Morning Britain that Giuffre told him Epstein would take her to meet Prince Andrew. He said, “She called me when she was on the trip and she was talking about she knew what they wanted her to do and she was really nervous and scared because she didn’t know how to react to it”.
To purchase the chalet, they secured a loan of £13.25 million and were expected to pay £5 million in cash instalments which, after applying interests, amounted to £6.8 million. Despite claims that the Queen would help pay the debt, a spokesperson for Andrew confirmed that she “will not be stepping in to settle the debt”. The Times reported in September 2021 that Andrew and Sarah had reached a legal agreement with the property’s previous owner and would sell the house. The owner agreed to receive £3.4 million, half of the amount that she was owed, as she had been under the impression that Andrew and Sarah were dealing with financial troubles. The money from selling the property is reportedly to be used to pay Andrew’s legal expenses over the civil lawsuit as well.
Even though he won the award through a public vote online and an audience vote on the night of the ceremony, there were concerns raised with a senior member of the royal household that Turk was “gaming the system” and should not have won as “he may have used bots – autonomous internet programs – to boost his vote”. Libyan-born convicted gun smuggler, Tarek Kaituni introduced Andrew to Selman Turk in May or June 2019 and held later meetings on at least two occasions. Kaituni, for whom Andrew allegedly lobbied a British company, had reportedly given Princess Beatrice a £18,000 gold and diamond necklace for her 21st birthday in 2009, and was invited to Princess Eugenie’s wedding in 2018. The Guardian reported that the Queen’s decision to strip Andrew “of his royal patronages, honorary military titles and any official use of his HRH title, still stands firm.” In 2021 Bloomberg News reported that a firm connected to David Rowland had been paying off Andrew’s debts.
Andrew is a keen golfer and has had a low single-figure handicap. He was captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews between 2003 and 2004—during the club’s 250th anniversary season—was patron of a number of royal golf clubs, and had been elected as an honorary member of many others. In 2004, he was criticised by Labour Co-op MP Ian Davidson, who in a letter to the NAO questioned Andrew’s decision to fly to St Andrews on RAF planes for two golfing trips.
In the 2019 BBC interview, Andrew told Newsnight his association with Epstein was derived from his long-standing friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of colluding in Epstein’s sexual abuse. On 16 January 2020, it was reported that the Home Office was recommending “a major downgrade of security” for Andrew, which would put an end to “his round-the-clock armed police protection”. It was later reported that he had been allowed to keep his £300,000-a-year security and the recommendation would be reviewed again in the future. On 28 January 2020, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman stated that Prince Andrew had provided “zero co-operation” with federal prosecutors rose gold groomsmen and the FBI regarding the ongoing investigations, despite his initial promise in the Newsnight interview when he said he was willing to help the authorities. Buckingham Palace did not comment on the issue, though sources close to Andrew said that he “hasn’t been approached” by US authorities and investigators, and his legal team announced that he had offered to be a witness “on at least three occasions” but had been refused by the Department of Justice. The US authorities responded to the claim and denied being approached by Andrew for an interview and labeled his statements as a way “to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate”.