Senior members of the royal family, including then prince Charles, distanced themselves from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was prince Andrew, following allegations of misconduct
00:55, 31 Mar 2026Updated 01:01, 31 Mar 2026
Queen Elizabeth II did not accept the allegations about her son, it is said(Image: Getty Images)
The late Queen Elizabeth II “did not believe” allegations of Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor’s misconduct, it is reported.
Virginia Giuffre claimed Andrew sexually assaulted her in 2001, when she was just 17 and a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network. Although Andrew firmly rejected these allegations, the case was eventually settled in court in New York City for a sum thought to be in the region of £12million.
But it is believed Andrew’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did not believe the allegations against Andrew over his links to Epstein, the convicted paedophile. This was the case, though, despite Andrew’s car-crash interview on Newsnight with Emily Maitlis, during which the father of two claimed he was at Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey, on the day he was alleged to have met Ms Giuffre.
The Queen died in September 2022, less than three years after the Newsnight interview and just six months after the Ms Giuffre case was settled in court, with money said to have been loaned in part by the Queen. Andrew, aged 66, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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Andrew, then duke of York, is pictured leaving Westminster Abbey after his brother’s coronation ceremony(Image: Getty Images)
Hugo Vickers, a royal author, wrote in his new book, due for release next month: “Despite his car-crash interview on Newsnight, and other apparent revelations, the Queen did not believe he had behaved improperly. It is fortunate that she did not live to witness the denouement.”
Since the monarch’s passing, dumpings of the Epstein files have put Andrew under more scrutiny. This led to King Charles to strip his brother of his royal titles and honours last year, and evict him from Royal Lodge in Windsor. It is understood Charles recognised the crisis caused his mother “considerable distress” but she would not accept the allegations.
Mr Vickers adds, in his book called Queen Elizabeth II: “Andrew’s problems caused the Queen considerable distress in the last years of her life. She was deeply concerned about his future. One idea, developed in the last year of her life, was to set up a foundation that Andrew could administer.”
The former duke of York attended the Queen’s state funeral, which saw around 2,000 mourners — including world leaders, royals and NHS staff — gather inside Westminster Abbey, the like of which the country hadn’t seen for some seven decades.
But now, Andrew is still eighth in line to the throne despite Charles’s actions last year. Speaking at the time, the Buckingham Palace said: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.”