Queen Elizabeth II Offered Full Support to Prince Andrew Amid Controversy

Queen Elizabeth II expressed her “full support” for her son, Prince Andrew, following the emergence of a controversial photograph featuring him with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre. The image, which surfaced in February 2011, shows Andrew with his arm around Giuffre, who has alleged she was a victim of sex trafficking involving the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Despite this support, sources indicate that the late monarch viewed her son’s ties to Epstein as “unwise.”

Newly released documents from the US government reveal that in March 2011, David Stern, an associate of Epstein and a former aide to Andrew, communicated with Epstein about the royal’s situation. Stern referred to Andrew as “PA” and noted, “PA has full support of his mum,” while emphasizing that “only dealing with you was ‘unwise’.” This correspondence came just months after Andrew publicly stated he had distanced himself from Epstein.

The photograph of Andrew with Giuffre was taken in the London residence of Ghislaine Maxwell, a known associate of Epstein. Around the same time, another photograph showed Andrew walking in Central Park, New York, shortly after Epstein’s conviction for child sex offenses. Following the release of the image with Giuffre, Andrew reportedly reached out to Epstein, stating, “we are in this together.”

While Queen Elizabeth authorized Andrew to step down from active royal duties in 2019, following a widely criticized television interview, she permitted him to retain the title of Duke of York. It was her successor, King Charles III, who stripped Andrew of his royal titles in October 2022, following the posthumous publication of Giuffre’s memoirs.

Reports suggest that Queen Elizabeth may have privately funded Andrew’s £12 million payout to Giuffre to resolve a civil lawsuit in which she claimed she was trafficked to the UK at the age of 17 to engage in sexual activities with the prince. Despite the controversies surrounding him, the late monarch publicly showed support for Andrew during a remembrance service for her husband, Prince Philip, in 2022, where she chose him to accompany her.

Stern, who worked in Andrew’s office and was involved in the now-defunct Pitch@Palace initiative, has been linked to several documents released by the US Department of Justice, including a photograph of him with Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, taken in January 2014. Throughout the allegations and legal battles, Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The revelations surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s support for Andrew add complexity to the ongoing narrative of the royal family’s involvement in the Epstein scandal, highlighting the delicate balance between familial loyalty and public scrutiny.