London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 16, 2025

Prince Andrew to remain counsellor of state after settling sexual abuse lawsuit

Prince Andrew to remain counsellor of state after settling sexual abuse lawsuit

Prince is still able to step in for Queen and there are no plans to remove titles
Prince Andrew is to remain a counsellor of state, able to step in temporarily for the Queen, along with retaining his title Duke of York and military rank of vice admiral after settling his US sexual abuse civil lawsuit, it is understood.

There are no immediate plans to remove the titles, sources indicated, as calls for transparency over how the duke will fund the financial settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre intensified along with those for him to relinquish his dukedom.

Andrew, 61, announced a “settlement in principle” with Giuffre, 38, on Tuesday in a joint statement which made no admission of liability over the allegations which he has always denied.

The agreement left him facing widespread opprobium, with international lawyers speculating that he had had to settle the case because of the weakness of his legal position.

Andrew was stripped of his royal patronages, honorary military titles and official use of his HRH style by the Queen last month in an attempt to distance the institution from the legal case.

The Guardian understands Andrew’s decision to settle out-of-court for an undisclosed sum, reportedly as high as £12m, has not altered the situation in relation to the titles he still holds.

Under legislation, he remains one of four counsellors of state who are required to step in should the sovereign be incapacitated through illness or absence abroad. The other three are Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Royal commentator Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, said: “This is a situation that needs resolving quickly. Recently, with William in Dubai, and Harry in the US, there was a distinct lack of counsellors of state. It needs to be resolved and ought to have been tackled before now.”

It is also understood there are no plans to remove his Duke of York title, bestowed on him by the Queen when he got married, but which York Central Labour MP, Rachael Maskell, has claimed had been “a source of deep hurt and embarrassment to many people across the city”.

He retains the title vice admiral because of his service in the Royal Navy. Plans to upgrade him to admiral on his 60th were delayed, and now appear shelved. Defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said “the decision on titles rests with the Palace”.

Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on reports the Queen will be contributing to the financial settlement from her private income, derived from the Duchy of Lancaster estate. Shadow secretary of state for Scotland, Ian Murray, told the BBC that transparency was needed about how the settlement will be funded if public money will be involved.

Royal finances expert David McClure said he felt strongly there was a “public right to know” about the “rough” size of the settlement, adding: “I don’t think this should be a state secret.”

He believed £5m was a more likely figure. He expected Andrew would “more than likely probably have to turn to the Queen” for assistance in paying.

In the joint statement on Tuesday, Andrew agreed to pay an undisclosed sum, as well as make a “substantial donation” to Giuffre’s charity for victims’ rights, and pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein” by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking and by supporting its victims”.

Labour MP Jess Phillips, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said it would be very difficult for Andrew to play a constructive role in fighting sex trafficking in future.

“Those who work in sexual violence [and] human trafficking are certainly not going to have open arms to his allyship – even if it was just finances,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

Andrew’s legal representative declined to comment on a Times report, that Giuffre will be able to speak publicly about her claim after the celebrations for the platinum jubilee are over.

Gloria Allred, a US attorney who has represented a number of Epstein’s victims, said the joint statement confirming the settlement was “vague” and would have been “carefully negotiated”.

She said Giuffre could testify in future court cases.

“No settlement such as this one can ever require that an accuser remain silent in the criminal justice system. A prosecutor could decide to file criminal charges, in which case, Virginia could testify if called on,” she told BBC Breakfast.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
×