With news of Prince Andrew's sexual assault case moving forward in the U.S., Buckingham Palace issued a statement Thursday saying the prince had his military affiliations and royal patronages returned to the Queen.
"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending the case as a private citizen," the statement read.
A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York: pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 13, 2022
This comes after a federal judge in New York denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Prince Andrew filed by Virginia Giuffre.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote that Andrew's lawyers failed to successfully challenge the constitutionality of the lawsuit she filed against him in August.
In her lawsuit, Giuffre accuses the late financier Jeffrey Epstein of trafficking her and forcing her to have sex with his friends, including the prince.
Giuffre also alleges that Andrew was aware she was underage at the time.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 at a Manhattan lockup as he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
In December, Epstein's longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
