The story of Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew is one of rape, human trafficking, money laundering, blackmail, lies, money and power. All of that is incredibly serious and worthy of serious discussion. But I have legitimately chuckled a few times this week at how bad the palace communications offices are at all of this. There’s been a frenzy of competing and contradictory stories coming out of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace.
One of the dumbest complaints from Prince Charles’ camp – and from the British media – is that Prince Andrew has not issued any statements about Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s lawsuit. Jan Moir at the DM wrote a whole-ass column about Andrew’s silence, and Charles keeps attacking Andrew in the press for not issuing a statement. Like, does anyone over there realize that Andrew can’t say anything because he incriminates himself constantly? Who needs to hear from Andrew? Do we need another version of the “pizza in Woking” story? Just let him sit there in f–king silence. The Daily Mail has yet another comprehensive piece about Andrew’s silence, his legal defense and more. Some highlights:
How much money he would have to pay Virginia: Prince Andrew faces a damages bill of up to £14million ($19million) if he loses his bombshell US lawsuit accusing him of rape, American lawyers have claimed as it emerged that a court hearing could still be five years away. Legal hurdles that might delay the case in New York mean that the Queen, 95, could be aged 100 by the time her son went on trial in a civil court, increasing the possibility that Prince Charles could be king by then. The civil lawsuit accuses Andrew – who is thought to be worth £32.5million – of rape in the first degree, sexual battery and sexual abuse – and UK detectives have now begun examining allegations made in the legal papers.
American lawyer Spencer Kuvin speaks: ‘To punish someone worth a billion dollars you have got to hit them in their pockets and punish them accordingly.Damages against Andrew could range in excess of £14million. Easily. There are going to be huge legal hurdles in the federal court before they will be able to even begin the process of litigating. It would not surprise me if it took a minimum five years to appear before a jury and that is if Andrew’s legal team do not get the case dismissed.’ He added that it is likely the controversy surrounding the Duke will ‘continue long after the Queen passes away’ and then Charles will have to ‘decide how to deal with it’.
The Met & Scotland Yard are investigating: Andrew is now facing renewed pressure to break his silence after a dramatic intervention by the UK’s top police officer Dame Cressida Dick who has told Metropolitan Police detectives to review the claims. As Dame Cressida warned ‘no one is above the law’, the new review will be led by one of the force’s most senior officers, Commander Alexis Boon, who has a background in counter-terrorism operations. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘As a matter of procedure, officers are reviewing a document released in August 2021 as part of a US civil action.’
Blindsided!! Sources say that while Andrew is at Balmoral, he is on the phone to his lawyers daily to discuss his next move. The prince and his team were said to be completely ‘blindsided’ by the decision to launch civil proceedings against him. But it seems his UK legal representatives – led by Clare Montgomery QC, known as the ‘doyenne of extradition law’, and solicitor Gary Bloxsome – had not anticipated that Mrs Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, and her lawyer would make good on their threat to seek redress through the civil courts.
No one can believe that he hasn’t issued a statement: There is also widespread incredulity that they have chosen not to make any public statement on such a significant development – even one that simply repeated Andrew’s previous denials of wrongdoing. It has left the royal, in the words of one member of his circle, ‘to be tried in the court of public opinion’. They said: ‘That cannot be a good thing – whatever you might think of him. It is proving reputationally damaging not just to himself, but to the Royal Family.’
Andrew is only listening to his lawyers: A Palace insider said: ‘We are extremely unhappy at the legal strategy of stone-walling. The Duke’s burying his head in the sand. The only person he is talking to is his lawyer Gary Bloxome. We just hope Gary has some magic legal trick up his sleeve as every hour of silence, not even repeating the Duke’s declaration that he is innocent and denying any sexual impropriety, is shredding his reputation. He could at the same time say something to show sympathy for anyone who is a sexual victim. His family despair at the Duke’s reliance on only one source of advice, which could be devastating for him in the long run.’
Charles flew to Scotland yesterday: Prince Charles flew up to Scotland yesterday ahead of crisis talks with Andrew about Miss Roberts’s lawsuit. Both Charles and Prince William have, behind the scenes, been increasingly vocal over their concern about the way the case has been handled by Andrew and his legal team. The York camp, it is felt, are seen as being constantly ‘on the back foot’ and have allowed a hugely toxic situation to drag on for far too long.
Not to defend Andrew, but he absolutely *should* be listening to only his lawyers right now. That’s just sound advice, listen to what the lawyers are saying and do that. I just had a dark premonition that whenever the clown-show courtiers do convince Andrew to release a statement, it will be so bad that it will truly harm his defense and completely end him in the court of public opinion. Perhaps that’s why Charles wants Andrew to make a statement – it will speed up the process and Andrew will be tossed aside that much sooner. It’s kind of amazing to see how Andrew is thoroughly screwed over no matter what his course of action. LOLZ.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
