CHARLES PERSUADED ANDREW TO SETTLE

PRINCE URGED HIS BROTHER ‘TO SEE SENSE’ OVER SEX CASE FOR THE SAKE OF THE MONARCHY

- Robert Jobson

THE Prince of Wales moved decisively to end the debacle over Prince Andrew’s civil sex assault case to avoid lasting damage to the monarchy.

The Duke of York had promised to fight to clear his name in court after being accused by Virginia Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was 17.

But Prince Charles, supported by the Queen, made it clear to his younger brother that for the sake of the institution they serve he had to settle with his accuser before it went to court.

It means there will be no civil trial, and Andrew will not have to give evidence under oath or in front of a jury.

It is understood a sworn deposition which Andrew was due to make on March 10, ahead of a thanksgiving service for Prince Philip next month, was the final straw.

A senior member of the Royal Household told the Standard: “The Prince of Wales and the Queen could not countenance another disastrous appearance by the Duke of York, in light of his BBC interview. Decisive action was needed. There was little choice. He had to see sense.”

Another senior palace source added: “The prospect of the duke being cross-examined on screen by legal interrogators filled the Prince of Wales and Her Majesty and other senior royals with dread.” The fallout from that BBC interview by Emily Maitlis in November 2019 — that Andrew informed the Queen had gone well before it aired — saw him withdraw from public duties after he was widely criticised for failing to show remorse for his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and little empathy with the sex offender’s victims.