Beleaguered royal Prince Andrew has been advised to settle his sex abuse lawsuit out of court
due to concerns he'll humiliate the family if he stands trial.
A royal source revealed to The Sun that Prince Charles and his eldest son Prince William
are leading the charge, noting,
"There are deep, deep worries that this will get worse and worse for the family."
Virginia Giuffre, who was also one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers, alleges that Andrew sexually
assaulted her when she was 17.
The prince denies all charges.
Charles and William were reportedly "deeply shocked" to learn that Andrew intended to
fight the charges at trial in Manhattan, particularly considering his previous attempt to reckon
with the accusations in an infamous BBC "Newsnight" interview — which made things significantly
worse.
Andrew was recently stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military titles by
the Queen herself, leaving him to fight the lawsuit as a private citizen.
As the source explained,
"After the car crash of 'Newsnight,' no one thinks a seven-hour deposition is a good idea."
Media lawyer Mark Stephens went even further, warning in an interview with The Daily Mail
that a full trial could risk "bringing down the monarchy."
Andrew is currently getting ready to give a sworn statement, and his lawyers are hoping
the disgraced royal will be allowed to appear in court remotely from Andrew's Windsor home.
The Duke of York is feeling the pressure from all sides, as evidenced by this revelation
over a recent outburst.
According to The Sun, Prince Andrew let loose on a female gardener after being served with
papers in relation to his lawsuit.
The senior royal reportedly took issue with some wrongly cut trees and yelled at the staffer
in question, leaving her, quote, "shaken and upset."
It was just days after Andrew received official notification about the case against him.
His reaction was "over the top" according to a source, who confirmed the gardener wasn't
at fault.
As the insider argued,
"Andrew is under a great deal of stress but it's no reason to take it out on staff doing
their job.
She had nothing to do with the damage and felt it was unfair.
After all, it's only a few saplings."
The unnamed gardener was part of a team working on a selection of young trees at the Duke's
mansion back in October 2021.
According to a source,
"Andrew spotted a problem with saplings.
He started screaming and shouting, 'What have you done?'"
Apparently, the gardener had a good reputation for being "hard-working" and "conscientious."
This is just the latest in a string of revelations from former staffers about his allegedly "entitled"
behavior.
Among other things, a former maid claimed Andrew made her run up a flight of stairs
to close some curtains that were easily within his reach.
She later told the Daily Mail that Prince Andrew is a, quote, "horrible and nasty man."
Per Vanity Fair, Prince Andrew was initially removed from his royal duties back in 2019,
following his appearance on "Newsnight."
During that time, Prince Andrew not only denied meeting Virginia Giuffre, but also didn't
apologize for his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
However, after a U.S. district judge ruled that Giuffre's lawsuit against Prince Andrew
can move forward, he has been further stripped of his military and royal titles.
Prince Andrew will no longer be addressed as "His Royal Highness" in an official capacity.
According to sources, Prince Andrew is expected to "disappear from sight" and will not appear
at any of the queen's upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations this June.
A source explained to Vanity Fair:
"He knows that he cannot further tarnish the queen's reputation, and that is very much
the view of the family.
The way they plan to deal with this is to remove Andrew from official royal life and
public view.
This has been the queen's decision, but it is supported by other senior family members."
While Prince Andrew is reportedly very upset about his mother's decision, an aide shared
that the queen knew that this is what must be done, saying:
"The queen has a great ability to compartmentalize and deal with problems in a considered and
pragmatic way, but this is her beloved son and the decision she has made will be a very
sad one for her."