Prince Andrew: sex scandal and lost everything
Prince Andrew: How Queen Elizabeth II's favorite son became embroiled in a sex scandal and lost everything.
Prince Andrew turns 63 today.
He has always been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II and was the only one of the monarch's children to see combat during the Falklands War. However, the mistakes of his youth proved fatal for the prince in adulthood.
Childhood and early years
British Prince Andrew is the third son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and ranks 9th in the line of succession to the British throne. Andrew was the first child born to the reigning monarch since the birth of Queen Victoria's youngest child, Princess Beatrice, in 1857. The prince has an older brother, Charles, a sister, Princess Anne, and a younger brother, Edward. Like all of the Queen's children, Andrew was raised by a governess until the age of 5, who was responsible not only for his upbringing but also for the boy's primary education.
The prince then attended Heatherdown Preparatory School in Berkshire. And at the age of 8, he entered the elite Gordonstoun boarding school, also in Scotland. While at school, Andrew participated in a student exchange program and studied for six months at Lakefield College in Canada. At the Scottish school, Andrew chose to study core subjects: English, History and Economics, and received an A Level certificate, which is the main qualification after graduation in England.
Military Service
In November 1978, the Royal Court announced that Andrew would join the Royal Navy the following year. The Prince underwent training, passed various athletic tests and examinations at the Flight Crew Selection Center at RAF Biggin Hill, and was enrolled at the Royal Naval Flight College in March 1979.
Andrew became a trainee helicopter pilot. In 1982 he became an officer in the 820th Naval Aviation Squadron, based on the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. When the Falklands War broke out in April 1982, the USS Invincible was involved. To avoid endangering Andrew's life, the government excluded the prince from the military operation, but Queen Elizabeth II insisted that her son return to the carrier. Prince Andrew was co-pilot of a Sea King helicopter and took part in combat missions. In 1984, Andrew was appointed the Queen's personal aide, a position he held until 1987. Andrew's military career was very successful, serving as a pilot, staff officer and rising to the rank of Naval Staff Officer for International Cooperation with the rank of Commander.
In 2005 he was promoted to Captain, in 2010 to Rear Admiral and in 2015 to Vice Admiral. In 2022, the Prince lost all of his military ranks, but more on that later.
Marriage to Sarah Ferguson and birth of children
On July 23, 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, whom he had known almost since childhood, they sometimes met at polo matches, and the romance between them began in 1985. The couple married in Westminster Abbey.
After the wedding, Prince Andrew received the title of Duke of York from Elizabeth II, and Sarah became Duchess of York. The couple had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie of York, born in 1988 and 1990, respectively. As the Duke has no sons, there are no heirs to the title (Persian titles, except in special cases, are inherited only through the direct male line). If Prince Andrew does not remarry and does not have a son, the title of Duke of York will revert to the Crown upon his death and may be bestowed again. On March 19, 1992, the couple announced their intention to divorce; the marriage was dissolved on May 30, 1996, and all issues were settled very peacefully. Prince Andrew spoke fondly of his ex-wife: "We managed to come to an agreement and raise our children in a way that few people have been able to, and I am extremely grateful to her for making that possible."
Today, Sarah and Andrew have lived under the same roof for many years at Royal Lodge, located on the grounds of the royal estate in Windsor. Rumor has it that they have more than friendship and mutual respect. Although it is obvious that they do not plan to make it public. This year, Sarah and Andrew spent their summer vacation at Balmoral, and after the Prince was accused of sexual abuse, she said she was ready to support him in any way she could.
Communication with Jeffrey Epstein and interview with the BBC
In August 2021, U.S. citizen Virginia Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew, accusing the duke of sexual assault. Ms. Giuffre said she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times on the orders of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in a prison cell in 2019. The structure that Epstein organized was complex and extensive, and looked like sexual slavery. He would invite girls to give him, and then his friends and acquaintances, naked massages, after which they would be sexually assaulted. Virginia was one of those girls.