After being accused of sexual assault in the United States, Prince Andrew has been the subject of widespread news. Virginia Giuffre, a U.S. citizen, brought a case against Prince Andrew for sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Despite newfound evidence, the investigation against the prince has been dropped. Whether the sexual assault took place or not, such a scandal in the royal family has brought a lot of attention to English royals.
U.K. police members in charge of the investigation stated, “This review has concluded and we are taking no further action.”
Prince Andrew is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II. Giuffre, who brought the suit against Prince Andrew, was a victim of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, and the prince has been shown to have befriended Epstein and stayed at his mansion.
The royal family is expected to maintain a clean image, so any scandal tarnishes the reputation of the monarchy. The fact that the police dropped all charges highlights the unfairness of the justice system. Since the accused is a member of the royal family, he will not be held accountable for his actions. Hopefully, this scandal will encourage action to pursue accountability for the elite.
Before allegations of sexual abuse, Prince Andrew was ninth in line for the throne. His connection with Jeffrey Epstein soiled his reputation enough to force him to step away from his royal duties in 2019, around the same time Epstein died by suicide. Epstein and Prince Andrew supposedly met in 1999, and visited each other multiple times in the U.S., the U.K., and on Epstein’s private island. Just as charges against Prince Andrew are dropping now, previous allegations did not go very far against the prince.
Giuffre included extensive evidence in her case against Prince Andrew. Included is a picture of the Prince with his arm around Giuffre as a teenager. She is one of many young women trafficked by Epstein and accused Prince Andrew of sexual abuse. Giuffre was brought to Epstein’s island and forced to participate in sexual acts with the prince and Epstein.
As for the U.K. police, according to Mark Stevens on CBS, “the London police were aware that because it isn’t illegal in the U.K. to have sex with a 17-year-old, they would have had to prove that Andrew knew Giuffre was trafficked in order to prosecute the royal. The UK police (MET) apparently didn’t believe there was enough evidence to prove that.”
While charges have been dropped by the U.K. police, Prince Andrew remains potentially vulnerable to Giuffre’s civil suit in the U.S. Since the case is not a criminal charge, Prince Andrew cannot be forced into the U.S. to face the charges. However, anything that comes up in the case may be used against Prince Andrew in the future. Although Prince Andrew has not yet been brought to justice for his actions, some change has been made, from forcing him to step down from royalty to finding new evidence against him.
The civil case against Prince Andrew brings hope for bringing powerful figures in society to justice. Society must show the wealthy upper class that their money or titles do not allow immunity. Prince Andrew should not be held above the law simply because he is royal, and we can only hope that, in the future, Prince Andrew may finally face charges for his actions.
