Prince Andrew joins Queen procession amid concern
over stand-in role
Position as counsellor of state under scrutiny as
fresh reports about Jeffrey Epstein scandal emerge
Wed 14 Sep
2022 18.12 BST
The Duke of
York sported an array of military medals on a civilian morning suit as he
joined a procession behind the Queen’s coffin amid claims British authorities
protected him from US prosecutors investigating his ties to sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince
Andrew has been told he cannot wear his military uniform for the events marking
the passing of the Queen, save for a lying-in-state vigil to be held for his
mother.
The royal,
now eighth in line to the throne, was stripped of his military patronages and
use of the HRH title after he paid a financial settlement to Virginia Giuffre,
who had accused him of sexual assault, a claim he denied.
As the duke
followed his mother’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on
Wednesday, fresh reports linked to the scandal emerged from the US.
A former US
attorney, Geoffrey Berman, who was leading the investigation, has claimed in a
book published on Tuesday that US prosecutors were eager to talk to Andrew
about his friendship with billionaire financier Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein’s former girlfriend was sentenced to 20 years in prison on
sex-trafficking charges in New York in June.
The prince,
Berman writes, “stated publicly that he would cooperate with the investigation,
and we intended to give him a chance to make good on his word”.
But though
Andrew “kept publicly saying that he was cooperating in the Epstein
investigation”, Berman writes, that “was not true”.
After
wrangling with lawyers, prosecutors then tried to compel the prince to
cooperate using a mutual legal assistance treaty request via the US state
department, Berman said, adding such requests had always worked both ways
before.
“But that
was not what happened with Prince Andrew,” he writes. “We got absolutely
nowhere. Were they protecting him? I presume someone was.”
Andrew’s
lawyers had rejected US accusations that he was not co-operating with the
investigation. In 2020, Blackfords, the London-based criminal law specialists,
claimed in a strongly worded two-page statement that the US Department of
Justice (DoJ) had effectively rejected three offers of help volunteered by the
prince.
Meanwhile,
Twitter users expressed disbelief that the Duke of York will continue to be a
counsellor of state, effectively an official stand-in for when the monarch is
unable to perform duties.
The
counsellors of state are rarely called upon, although King Charles and Prince
William stood in for the Queen in the last state opening of parliament due to
her mobility issues at the time.
King
Charles does not appoint his counsellors of state, rather by law they must
include the sovereign’s spouse and the next four people in the line of
succession who are over the age of 21.
This means
Princess Beatrice, the Duke of York’s daughter, is now a counsellor of state.
Many
questioned why laws could not be rewritten to give more freedom of the
selection of the counsellors of state so that Andrew might be stripped of the
role and so that Princess Anne could step in.
Anne is unable
to do this because when she was born, male heirs had first right to the throne
over women – a rule known as male royal primogeniture.
In 2013,
new legislation, the Succession to the Crown Act, scrapped this and gave women
equal rights to men in the line of succession. The act applies to those born
after 28 October 2011. As this law is not retrospective, Anne, 72, misses out.
Richard
Fitzwilliams, royal expert, told the Guardian: “The law lays down that
counsellors of state are as announced, the first four adults in the line of
succession and the monarch’s spouse.
“There is a
good reason to change it. After the death of Prince Philip when Prince Charles
had Covid and Prince William was fleetingly abroad, it is unclear what might
have happened if the Queen had been incapacitated.
“However,
it can only be changed by parliament. With a younger monarch it makes the
matter less urgent, but it should certainly be attended to.
“Prince
Andrew has no future as a senior working royal, although reports indicate he is
not reconciled to this. However, a funeral obviously involves those who have
the right to grieve as a family and because of this I think this aspect of it
has been appropriately handled.”
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