This was a ruthless palace policy, which distanced the royal family from one of their own.
There was no waiting to see if Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, could clear his name in court. He has already lost the use of His Royal Highness and his military ties have been severed.
“Brutal”, royal commentator Peter Hunt tweeted. “The Windsors have shown that when the institution is under threat, dynastic preservation trumps flesh and blood“.
It could also be seen as inevitable. Rather than face a host of uncomfortable questions about Prince Andrew’s future, Buckingham Palace went on a pre-emptive strike, effectively announcing that he will never play an official royal role again.
The Royal Statement , in two short sentences, translates it after 61 years as a public figure to “private citizen”.
Aside from the merits of the civil court case, from a reputational perspective, this story has been like a leaking supertanker spouting bad news, and the royal family wants to prevent more damage from reaching their shores.
Royal historian Robert Lacey described it as Prince Andrew being “ stripped of royalty “.
Damaging the “brand”
¿ will be enough to protect the royals from toxic consequences, in a year when they want to focus on the Platinum Jubilee celebrations?
“There is great potential for it to contaminate the royal family in general ”, says Professor Pauline Maclaran, author and expert on the real “brand”.
“From a brand perspective, the ‘Andrew thing’ has been hanging over them for a while and it’s only going to get worse,” says Maclaran, a Royal Holloway scholar at the University of London.
But ensure that the great personal popularity of the reina will allow her to man rise above this, which if anything, will increase public sympathy for her.
Maclaran predicts that the real strategy will be to loudly emphasize the positive for drown out the negative, like using the Duchess of Cambridge’s front-page charisma.
“They will try to maximize the young royals: William, Kate and their family. They will try to maximize the jubilee celebrations,” says Maclaran.
The Platinum Jubilee, which marks the reign of 70 years of Isabel II, could be used to take advantage of a summer wellness factor if the pandemic starts to subside, he says.
In terms of what will happen from now, Maclaran says the royals will want a settlement in the case as soon as possible, rather than the “slow torture” of months of negative headlines if it is disputed in court.
The royal family has weathered many storms before, he says, and they will survive this one too, mostly because people can tell between the institution of the monarchy and the people who are part of it la.
But the impact of negative public opinion should not be underestimated, suggests royal commentator Victoria Murphy.
What does the agreement say 2009 between Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew’s plaintiff (and why it matters in the case against him) Duke of York)
“You have to remember that it was public opinion that led him to withdraw from his royal role after that disastrous television interview on 
Newsnight, which was long before Virginia Giuffre had filed this civil case,” says Murphy.
Regular opinion polls by the analysis firm YouGov have shown that the public is hostile to any return to a royal role for the pPrince Andrés, which suggests that the move of the palace coincides with the mood of the public.
“Passage of time”
Gideon Benaim, a lawyer who specializes in “protecting the reputation” of high-profile people, says: “The fact that Prince Andrew has been stripped of his titles is very damaging to him, but ultimately it is a good move by the royal family to try to contain the damage”.
It also offers a glimmer of hope for Prince Andrew.
The Duke has steadfastly maintained his innocence and Benaim says it’s not impossible that Prince Andrew will begin to repair his reputation one day.
The first step is to try to resolve the case as soon as possible, says Benaim, of the Simkins law firm in London.
“The last thing the Duke needs, and in fact the royal family will want, is a prolonged litigation in which the private and embarrassing details are seen ntil in public,” he says.
A court case would mean hearing much more about Giuffre’s abuse allegations and the links with the sexual exploitation of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
A settlement would depend on Giuffre being willing to negotiate a deal rather than demand a court trial, with enough money and a statement that both parties can accept. The question of an apology could be a sticking point.
Falling out of sight
For Prince Andrew, an agreement also has its disadvantages, because the accusations would remain unresolved.
“Certainly, it will not prevent some from believing that something happened and that there is no smoke without fire”, says Benaim.
If an agreement is reached, the reputation expert says that Prince Andrew should “disappear for a long period of time” before “testing the waters very gradually”.
“But it is much more difficult what does 20 years”, he says.
The rapid spread of information on the internet, the opinions p polarized and extreme on social media, make it that much harder for people to move on, says Benaim.
There are still constitutional roles for Prince Andrew, including as “Counselor of State”. He remains one of only four royals who can carry out the monarch’s official duties if she is unable to perform the tasks herself.
He is still a “royal knight” of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry.
But Prince Andrew, who probably doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life being seen in grainy photos in Range Rovers in Windsor, faces big decisions with few good options.
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