Prince Andrew Reportedly Determined to Honour Father By Attending Prince Philip’s Memorial Service

Prince Andrew stepped down from royal duties in November 2019 in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking scandal. The embattled royal last month reached an out of court settlement for Virginia Giuffre’s civil claim that the late paedophile had trafficked her to have sex with the Duke of York when she was a minor.

Prince Andrew is expected to attend his father, the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey on 29 March, PA Media reported, citing his spokesman.

The British royal family, including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as well as other European royals, will be gathering to remember the Queen’s husband, who died last year at the age of 99, UK media says.

Prince Harry has already said he will not be attending, citing "security" reasons. but Queen Elizabeth II is expected to attend, despite missing the Commonwealth Service Day earlier because of concerns about her traveling from Windsor Castle.

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York (2ndL), Britain's Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (R) attend the funeral ceremony for Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, west of London, on April 17, 2021.

© CHRIS JACKSON

The embattled Duke of York, who quit all royal duties in November 2019 amid fall-out from the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, is reportedly determined to honour his father by being present at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip. If that is the case, it would mark the royal’s first public outing since he struck an out-of-court settlement with his sex assault accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

Giuffre had claimed the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his “pimp” Ghislaine Maxwell had trafficked her out to have sex with the Duke of York on three occasions when she was 17 and a minor by US law. Prince Andrew vehemently denied her accusations and any charge of wrongdoing.

The financial deal, believed to exceed £12 million ($15.7 million), including a £2 million ($2.6 million) contribution to Virginia Giuffre’s sex-trafficking charity, was finalised on 8 March, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

In his settlement deal, the Duke of York, 62, who has since stepped down from official duties and been stripped of his military roles and royal patronages, accepted that she was a “victim of abuse”, and “regrets his association” with billionaire Epstein.

The convicted tycoon died behind bars in 2019 while being held on sex-trafficking charges.

"The payment was received, the settlement we announced last month has been completed. We are obviously very pleased with the outcome," Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, was cited as saying by CNN, while refusing to disclose the amount the two parties agreed upon.

The financial deal is believed to have been paid by Queen Elizabeth, who is also said to have funded her second son’s legal battle with Giuffre.

Prince Andrew’s brother, Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne, is also said to have made a significant financial contribution to the settlement, and it has been suggested it was he who urged the Duke to settle with his accuser.

The decision was ostensibly taken to avoid hurting the reputation of the monarchy further in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.