Andrew ‘repeatedly refused to back Palace statements that supported abuse survivors’

Commoner Andrew Windsor declined to approve royal statements that acknowledged abuse survivors, an insider claims.

The former prince was stripped of his titles and evicted by his brother, King Charles, on Thursday amid mounting pressure about his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew’s links to the paedophile financier have been a target of public scrutiny for years, despite him vigorously denying the allegations.

Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her three times after being trafficked by Epstein as a teenager.

A friend of the King and Camilla told the Sunday Times that since Andrew’s disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview, any references to victims had been removed from official statements.

The paper said Andrew had to sign off on any such communication.

The friend told the paper the King had ‘lost patience’ and the statement announcing the removal of Andrew’s titles was ‘no longer a statement by committee, it’s a statement from the King.’

Charles and the Queen publicly shared their ‘thoughts and utmost sympathies’ with ‘the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.’

The Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh campaign against sexual abuse.

Commoner Andrew Windsor to leave his 30-bedroom mansion

Following his eviction notice, Andrew is preparing to leave the Royal Lodge and move to a new home on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Andrew is set to get a six-figure payout and an annual payment as part of his ‘relocation settlement’ after being forced out of his Crown Estate home, The Guardian reported.

The former prince will receive the one-off payment funded by the King to cover his move, followed by the regular stipend to prevent him from ‘overspending in his new life as a commoner’.

It is understood that the King will use private funds to cover the cost, but not his Duchy of Lancaster income.

Andrew will, however, be denied most of his half a million pound compensation for giving up his lease on Royal Lodge.

Camilla is a long-standing advocate against sexual assault and domestic violence, as she has highlighted organisations supporting victims of rape and sexual assault for more than ten years.

The royal family’s lack of mention of the victims affected the credibility of their campaigns, according to the friend.

Another said the King and Queen were aware of the public’s opinion of Andrew, adding: ‘They have felt the public anger and they have acted.’

After his interview with Newsnight in 2019, Andrew stepped back from public life, saying in a statement that Epstein’s suicide left many unanswered questions for ‘his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure’.

But all statements that followed after this had no mention of the abuse victims whatsoever – including the 2022 Palace statement on the loss of his military affiliations and royal patronages and his last one on October 17, in which he pledged to stop using his Duke of York title.

Meanwhile, the BBC has reported that Andrew arranged a private tour of Buckingham Palace for businessmen from a cryptocurrency mining firm while Queen Elizabeth II was in residence.

The company had reportedly agreed to pay his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, up to £1.4 million.

Jay Bloom and his colleague Michael Evers are said to have visited the palace in June 2019. The partners told the BBC conflicting stories on whether they went on to meet Queen Elizabeth there.

The crypto-mining scheme failed less than a year later but this revelation fuels questions about how Andrew and Fergie have funded their lavish lifestyle.

Now, as a commoner, pressure is building on Andrew to give evidence before a US Congressional committee, as they have asked him to reveal what he knew about Epstein’s actions.

Democrat Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi told the BBC that he wants Andrew to give evidence, saying: ‘I would go so far as to subpoena him.

‘Now, enforcing the subpoenas is not easy for somebody who’s on foreign soil.

‘However, if Andrew wishes to come to the United States or he’s here, then he’s subject to the jurisdiction of the US Congress, and I would expect him to testify.’

There have also been calls to the Met Police to investigate claims against Andrew.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said it was made aware of allegations around non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation in 2015, which ‘related to events outside the UK and an allegation of trafficking to central London in March 2001′.

They added that following the legal advice, ‘it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities and relationships outside the UK’, so officers concluded that ‘other jurisdictions and organisations were better placed to pursue the specific allegations’.

In 2016, a decision was made that this matter would not proceed to a full criminal investigation, the force said.

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