Since the death of the Queen on 8 September, Prince Andrew has returned to the public sphere.
The Duke of York’s prominence at events marking the death of his mother, such as the progress of her coffin through Edinburgh and London this week, is to be expected. Andrew is grieving personal loss during a national period of mourning.
But just months ago, amid fallout from his long and controversial association with the convicted sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, any public appearance at all would have seemed entirely unlikely.
The royal, now eighth in line to the throne, was stripped of his military patronages and use of the HRH title after he paid a financial settlement to Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual assault, a claim he denied.
For attorneys who represented Epstein victims, and for other advocates for sex-crimes victims, Andrew’s sudden reappearance has seemed jarring. Some have said it could prove triggering for Epstein survivors, even if they never encountered Andrew. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Thursday, September 15, 2022
