There were a million stories about Prince Andrew this weekend, which is a nice change as far as “royal coverage” goes. Sure, I’m expecting this week to be a sh-tshow as the British media and the Windsor clan throw out a bunch of Sussex stories to deflect from Andrew. But there is also a sense from the Andrew coverage that no one can avoid discussing him anymore. So there are a lot of “palace aides” and “royal insiders” running around, talking to the Mail on Sunday, the Sunday Times and The Sun about him. Here are some quotes I wanted to highlight from the Mail on Sunday’s coverage:
Palace insiders cannot believe Andrew’s lawyers have said nothing: One well-placed palace insider said: ‘There’s a growing sense that his legal team need to say something, even if it is just to acknowledge that they are working on it. The Duke’s legal team is not doing him or the rest of the family any favours by being so taciturn.’
Bafflement with the legal strategy: One source said: ‘The Queen met with Andrew and no doubt asked him, “What are your lawyers saying? What’s the advice?” ’The source said there was ‘bafflement’ about the strategy of Andrew’s legal team, which includes Gary Bloxsome of the firm Blackfords and advice from Blair Berk, a female lawyer who previously represented Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. So far they have refused even to reiterate Andrew’s previous claim that he has no recollection of meeting Ms Giuffre.
Andrew’s lawyers aren’t even taking calls: One insider said the paranoia within Andrew’s team was such that the lawyers had ‘hunkered down’ and were even ‘blanking’ requests for information from other aides.
Andrew’s arrogance: The source close to Ms Giuffre’s advisers – headed by heavyweight US litigator David Boies – said of Andrew’s legal team: ‘If I was to give you one word which sums up the attitude from Prince Andrew and his side, it is “arrogance”. No one out-bluffs David Boies. We gave them multiple times to respond, to come to the table to discuss this, and they ignored our letters, ignored our calls. They were given multiple opportunities to get together, to start a discussion and avoid any of this becoming public. There was nothing but a wall of silence.’
I believe that part about Virginia’s lawyer David Boies and all of the opportunities Boies likely gave Andrew’s legal team. Andrew and the Windsors have pretended that they were “blind-sided” by Virginia’s lawsuit, when really, Boies has been trying to settle this situation out of court for more than a year. Andrew and his team really thought that if they ignored this, it would go away. Maybe they even still feel that way? LOL, how stupid.
What else? Ever since Andrew “stepped down” from royal duties in late 2019, Buckingham Palace has done the most to encourage patronages to keep Andrew on as patron. There’s been some low-key reporting that charities and organizations have tried to dump him only to get pressure from BP. The official Royal Family website has Andrew’s patronage list at 119 organizations, but sources tell the Daily Express “He really just has a handful of patronages left.” The remaining few are various military patronages (given to him by mummy) and golf clubs, which will only stick with him if he’s not criminally charged with anything. Andrew has recently been removed as patron of the British-Kazakh Society, Alderney Maritime Trust, and Berkshire Cricket Club, “which said in May he was no longer its patron.” The Express also says that while the Queen will eventually remove Andrew’s military patronages, she’s currently “resisting pressure” to remove them right now. I mean, it’s not like he married a Black American woman, what’s the hurry?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
It’s been reported in the Telegraph that the Palace is reluctant to strip Andrew of his military titles because that would give an impression that he’s guilty. So there’s no question that Harry was stripped of his as punishment for leaving the family.
Agreed
+2
Fact Amy
Guilty of marrying a black woman, in their eyes, they is no bigger or worst crime
Great point, but its stupid (the royal family’s thinking, not you Amy lol) because remember part of the PR at the time was that since Harry was no longer representing the Crown, he couldn’t have those honorary military titles/patronages anymore, and now Andrew is no longer representing the Crown, soooo…….
it just makes it so much more obvious that the removal of the honorary military titles was punitive.
But that’s the thing. He was no longer representing the Crown when Prince Harry stepped down. It’s been an obvious double standard from the start.
How any person let alone a country or commonwealth revere and support these people is revolting. Between the Royals, the firm and the media they all roll around in their filth. What is truly sickening is the Queen is the head of the church.
Wow. The Palace is a POS. Its never been more clear. Those titles came off Harry with no time to lose, I mean, can’t have someone in love and with a backbone, right? But some run of the mill rape, paedophilia, trafficking, lying, come on boys, we are all just guys here, can’t be too on ol’ no sweat Andy……
I’m disgusted.
If the photo posted. Andrew really looks like a Carnarvon (Herbert).
I am astonished he still has any non-military patronages. He is radioactive.
It’s an international news item now, so they couldn’t really ignore it any longer.
But they tried, didn’t they?. See all the recent articles about the Sussexes, and about Meghan in particular. The BRF and their sycophant BRM are just a joke.
@babsorig: yes they did try to use the Sussexes as a distraction but I think the press and the Palace are finding out that tactic doesn’t work anymore.
And it blows my mind that reform is not called for. Maybe people are subconsciously scared to come to terms with what the BRF really is and that means that it has been going on FOREVER. It did not start with Lizzy, this goes far back. Regardless, reform needs to happen and put an end to a family living off others and protecting it’s own – the favored individuals that is – others are left as carnage to feed hyenas.
Indeed, they tried. And because the stories about Andrew are true, and the stories about Meghan are not, the monarchy is falling faster–who can believe in a royal family that protects a pedo deep into sex-trafficking, while chasing out the philanthropic biracial woman because they couldn’t overcome their racism?
Boies is better at PR than all of them put together. If Andrew continues to refuse to cooperate it’s going to be a lot worse for him.
LOL, This is hilarious. So, for the first time, the “gold standard” courtiers/aides are helpless, they can’t control the narrative, Andrew’s lawyers have ghosted them and everyone of them is freaking out. Its really hilarious but a sight to behold😁
I’d forgotten all about that gold standard nonsense. Lol forever.
It’s really something isn’t it? The RF and courtiers really thought they could just blank Virginia and this would all go away. They are so used to the protections they enjoy in the UK- legally and with the press- that they STILL cannot comprehend that this suit has been brought in a US court, over which they have no jurisdiction. They literally cannot wrap their heads around the fact that this won’t magically go away like all the scandals before.
Their arrogance and ignorance is truly a sight to behold.
It’s always those damn Yankee’s poking holes in their little bubbles for the past 250 years!
Here’s hoping his arrogance is what brings this disgustingly awful human being down.
*popcorn ordering noise*
(popcorn popping noise, subtle sound of butter cooking)
They didn’t settle out of court? I guess I question the legal team too.
Not me. Confidential settlements are not worth the paper written on. Ask Tiger Woods.
Andrew will probably spend the next ten years dodging the process servers.
Also, the lawyers can’t settle the case unless the client agrees to settle. And in this case, unless the client’s exalted mummy agrees to cough up the cash.
“Blindsided” is the new “incandescent with rage”.
Make no mistake, these people aren’t blindsided by anything. Their MO is to stonewall, gaslight, deflect and when all else fails, stick their heads in the sand until problems “go away”. Problem solving or addressing difficult issues was never their forte.
“The Duke’s legal team is not doing him or the rest of the family any favors by being so taciturn.” Charles and William are hopping mad that Andrew’s legal team won’t dance when they tell them to dance. And what exact favor are they asking for from the legal team? We know William’s response is always to deny, fight, threaten a defamation case, call Meghan some more names. I am laughing at the idea of William trying to throw his weight around where an American civil case is concerned and instruct the lawyers how he wants it played out in the press.
Yeah, they’re freaking out because Andrew might cut a deal to avoid trial and that will not only confirm his guilt, but make it obvious the family covered for him.
As an attorney, my feeling is the legal team is quiet for 2 reasons:
1. Andrew is a nightmare client who doesn’t think he did anything wrong & isn’t capable of appreciating the seriousness of the situation. So they’re trying to reason with him and/or work out a strategy that will be responsive but preserve the bubble he lives in (good luck with that).
2. They know any communication with the family or courtiers will get leaked, so they’re stonewalling.
Fellow attorney. This makes total sense.
I agree. Since a claim has been issued the next communication needs to be their defence to the claim. No statement should be provided until once the pleading is filed because they don’t want inconsistent statements out there.
At this point a mere statement isn’t making the lawsuit go away so it’s pointless to send one out until their legal ducks are in a row.
I’m an attorney too, and I cosign all of these takes.
Ahahahahahaha nightmare client! 🤣
ETA laughing because I can only imagine the headaches his lawyers are having trying to whack sound legal advice into his head.
I predict that Andrew’s lawyers will continue to stonewall for the simple reason that they know damn well that he’s guilty as well as staggeringly stupid and arrogant. It would be safer to let him be convicted in absentia having not engaged at all than to let Boies and his team anywhere near him – remotely or in person. I suspect that if Andrew actually co-operated he would end up incriminating himself even further. I mean, where would he even start with a defence? We’ve only seen the one photo but I’ll bet there are more – not to mention the testimony of other girls, flight logs, court circulars tracking his movements and his RPOs.
This is a valid point, Hench. Silence while waiting for all the evidence to drop, and I believe as well that there is much more that we don’t know. Boies is too smart an attorney to put this case out there on the basis of one photo.
There is no “conviction” in a civil lawsuit. If you don’t defend and get noted in default, you’re deemed to have admitted all the allegations and a judgment can be taken out against you for the full claimed amount. There is zero chance that his lawyers won’t defend. Even if they know he did it and that all of her losses were caused by him, they can still agree on damages and settle without admitting fault. Also, there is something called an implied undertaking rule in pretty much all common law jurisdictions. It means that no statements or evidence collected as part of one lawsuit can be used to build a case in another. My guess would be that Andrew is a nightmare client and that it’s impossible to get reasonable instructions from him. Lawyers can’t act without client’s instructions.
Great post and thanks so much. Have learned a lot from fellow posters.
I can imagine what Meghan thinks about this awful man. I wouldn’t want my children anywhere near him and his family of enablers and the sycophants that work for them.
This time Andrew will have to take one for the team. Bonus points because he’s guilty. One can only hope that between his legal fees and the payout that will ultimately be paid from the duchy of Lancaster, he will ultimately be bankrupted even from any inheritance. William will take his house and he will be forced to live somewhere where Fergie is not allowed. Thats as close to punishment as he’ll ever get.
I would love to know how much Virginia’s team is asking for to settle their lawsuit. It’s probably a whopping 8 figure amount and the BRF are afraid if they pay her it will open the floodgates to a plethora of other civil suits
The reason they ignored David Boies and Guiffre’s legal team is because they thought the way things work in Britain, also apply to the rest of the world.
They are royalty remember, everybody exists to make their life better. They do what they like and everyone else better put up and shut up.
Makes me wonder how many of the daughters friends have been raped & paid off by the Crown?
Hubris. It comes back to bite you in the ass.
In the earlies, I think he ignored it because he thought she was trying to shake him down for some cash. he completely was unaware of the significance of what was happening and the impact of his actions.
Actually Andrew reminds me of William, in appearances.
The bravery of Virginia 💚 she has more guts than a hotdog factory. Get ’em.
David Boies has had some controversial cases, including with Weinstein, but he’s a serious big hitter. Bush v Gore, Microsoft, teaming with Ted Olsen to overturn Prop 8. Gloria Allred can be a real lightning rod but they can’t aim that here. They’re in some big trouble.
He sounds like a real upstanding guy if he was defending Harvey Weinstein. Maybe that’s why he took this case. To shake the stink off his reputation.
The right royal bastard son of Lord Porchester probably thought all of this was no big deal. But there have been wilder controversies in this family, including paedophilia, see https://www.christopherspivey.co.uk/2021/04/18/prince-philip-remembered/ for a very contrarian take on the Royal Family’s foibles.
Arrogant is correct. Not only entitled, boorish and a sex criminal he is also arrogant.
POS
@smarmyo: Prince Andrew cannot possibly be Porchester’s son because he was conceived after Prince Philip returned home from a six-month overseas tour. The Queen’s marriage had become strained as Prince Philip was chafing at having to take a subservient role to Elizabeth whose allegiance was not to her husband but to the crown. She was, however, deeply in love with Philip and never would have risked introducing an illegitimate child into the royal line of succession. All the conspiracy theorists say “well Andrew looks so much like Porchy” but frankly I do not see any resemblance at all. He actually looks a lot like his mother and her side of the family.
Furthermore, Christopher Spivey is one of the worst conspiracy theorists out there and terrorized the family of Lee Rigby, a fusilier who was hacked to death by terrorists in London in May 2013, insisting his murder was “staged”. He continually harassed and threatened Rigby’s family, insisting that one of his sisters didn’t exist, and published photos and names of his other sister’s children, her house, and other private information. She had to move away she felt so threatened. The guy is a total lunatic and received several suspended prison sentences and a lifetime restraining order banning him from any future contact with the family and from publishing any material about them on the internet.
You appear to be a newbie here at CB. You’ll find commenters who try to palm off these nutjob stories get shot down pretty quickly.
Who thought that it was important to point out that one of the lawyers is a woman?
I think the important part there is that she worked on Harvey Weinsteins cases and well……look how that turned out. Also……he was guilty too.
They always try that angle like, look he couldn’t have done this. He’s being defended by a woman. I think it just makes that woman look really bad.