Analysis: The Queen hasn’t escaped the Andrew scandal
A version of this story appeared in the February 18 edition of CNN’s Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on Britain’s royal family. Sign up here. On Wednesday, the Sun newspaper splashed the headline: “His Final Disgrace,” the Daily Mail called it the “Duke’s Final ‘£10 million’ Humiliation” and The Daily Star declared him a “Royal wrong ‘un.” If Prince Andrew had hoped to end the stream of negative headlines coming out of his civil sexual assault case by settling out of court for an undisclosed sum, it didn’t work.That’s because the UK’s media no longer had to wait for a verdict before passing their own judgment on the Duke of York’s character. Throughout the case, Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but the move has left some wondering why he would settle if he has no memory of ever meeting his accuser Virginia Giuffre — as he claims. And he previously vowed to clear his name at trial. Neither Andrew nor Giuffre would comment beyond the settlement statement filed with the court, but royal commentators conclude that the prince had to stop the drip-drip of salacious revelations in the Queen’s platinum jubilee year, which is meant to be about celebrating — not berating — the monarchy. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge will visit Copenhagen next Tuesday for a two-day working visit with her organization, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. It’s the first time Kate has traveled abroad for work relating to her foundation. During the visit, she’s expected to “spend time learning about how Denmark has created an enabling culture for early childhood development, specifically how it has promoted infant mental wellbeing alongside physical health, and how it harnesses the power of nature, relationships and playful learning in the first five years of life,” according to Kensington Palace. She will also be meeting with Danish royals, with Queen Margrethe II due to welcome the duchess officially on the second day of the trip. Like Britain’s Queen, the Danish monarch is also celebrating a jubilee this year — her 50th anniversary on the throne.
