Oh, the drama of a royal Christmas uninvitation! Prince Andrew, formerly the Duke of York, now just plain old Prince Andrew, has been told to stay away from Sandringham this year. The horror! One can only imagine the royal turkey tasting a little less regal without his presence.
But let’s not be fooled by the theatrics. This is not justice. It is performative PR.
In a statement released with King Charles’ blessing, Andrew declared he would no longer use his titles to avoid distracting from the ‘real work’ of the Royal Family. What work, you ask? Ribbon cutting and waving from balconies but sure, let’s pretend this is a noble sacrifice.
This all comes in the wake of the imminent posthumous release of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, a harrowing account of her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends including, allegedly, Prince Andrew.
Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide earlier this year, wrote that Andrew believed having sex with her was his ‘birthright.’ She detailed being trafficked to him at 17, and described an encounter on Epstein’s private island involving Andrew and eight other girls.
Let us not forget the infamous BBC interview where Andrew claimed he couldn’t sweat and had never met Giuffre, despite a photograph showing them together. Or the £12 million settlement paid to Giuffre in 2022, reportedly funded by the late Queen Elizabeth. Innocent men don’t usually pay millions to silence their accusers, but hey, what do we know?
Now, new allegations have emerged that Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded Metropolitan Police bodyguard to dig up dirt on Giuffre, including her social security number. The Met is “actively looking into” these claims. Because nothing says innocence like trying to smear your accuser. Royal reporters and defenders of Prince Andrew have engaged in several tactics in recent years—both overt and subtle—to discredit Virginia Giuffre and undermine her credibility. This includes being mocked on social media, bullied online, reporting on her mental health issues and victim-blaming. These tactics reflect a broader pattern of powerful institutions and individuals using their influence to protect reputations at the expense of survivors. The Royal Family’s silence, combined with these media strategies, raises serious questions about accountability, justice, and the treatment of victims in high-profile abuse cases.
And what of the Royal Family’s response to all this? A few carefully worded statements, a quiet title drop, and a strategic leak that Prince William is the one pushing for Andrew’s exile. The Sunday Times reports that William plans to ban Andrew from all royal events when he becomes King. How brave. How modern. How utterly performative.
Because let’s be clear, Andrew hasn’t lost anything that matters. He still lives in the Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion on the Windsor estate. He’s still a prince by birth. His daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, remain princesses. His lifestyle remains untouched. This isn’t exile, it is a PR stunt dressed up as accountability. Meanwhile, the victims of Epstein’s trafficking ring, many of them underage girls, are left with trauma, public scrutiny, and the knowledge that the powerful men who abused them continue to live in luxury. Prince Andrew is only one man. There are many, many more, and justice continues to be elusive.
What if, instead of hiding behind palace walls and anonymous sources, the royals publicly acknowledged the pain of the victims and used their platform to advocate for survivors of sexual abuse? What if they demanded transparency and accountability from within their own ranks? But no. The priority remains the preservation of the monarchy’s image.
The same institution that once protected Andrew now seeks to distance itself from him, not because of a moral awakening, but because the optics are bad. The Royal Family’s motto, “Never complain, never explain,” no longer passes the pub test.
Giuffre’s memoir is apparently a gut-wrenching reminder of the human cost of unchecked power. She wrote of being coerced into sex, of being treated as property, of being asked to carry a child for Epstein and Maxwell. Her death should have been a moment of national reckoning. Instead, it’s been met with silence.
So let’s not be distracted by the royal soap opera. The real story isn’t about who gets to sit at the Christmas table. It is about who gets to live with dignity, and who gets to hide behind tradition. The Royal Family has a choice: continue the charade, or confront the truth. Because the public is no longer buying the silence. And the victims deserve more than a PR stunt. They deserve justice.