Prince Andrew Gets Anti-Social

Last week, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, had his honorary military titles stripped by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and, this week, his social media accounts are being deleted as he faces a sexual assault lawsuit in the United States.

The soon-to-be-former Duke of York’s Twitter handle leads to a blank page, his YouTube page is inaccessible, and both his Instagram and Facebook pages are in the process of being deleted.

Royal aides have distanced the family from Andrew on the monarchy’s official website and all of his duties are now listed in the past tense. Senior members of the royal family agreed that his roles will be shared amongst the remaining royals.

The erasing of Prince Andrew’s social media footprint appears in response to a lawsuit brought on by Virginia Giuffre, the 38-year-old woman suing the 61-year-old royal for sexual assault when she was a minor.

In her lawsuit, Giuffre testified that she was sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of Prince Andrew, and that the royal had sex with her when she was 17, a minor in the United States. Prince Andrew has denied the allegations.

In January, a judge ruled that the case could go forward following a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by the Duke of York’s lawyers. Andrew will have until July 14 to answer questions under oath. If the case is not settled, a trial date is expected between September and December.