Buckingham Palace said on Thursday that Prince Andrew's honorary military titles and royal patronages have been returned to Queen Elizabeth II with her “approval and agreement."

More than 150 navy and army veterans had written to the queen asking her to strip Andrew of all his military ranks and titles after a U.S. judge said Wednesday a sex assault lawsuit against Andrew could go ahead.

In a joint letter issued by the group Republic, they said Andrew had “brought the services he is associated into disrepute.”

The palace said in a brief statement that “with the queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen."

“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen," the statement added.

A U.S. district judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a civil case against Andrew by an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, who alleges the royal sexually abused her when she was 17.

District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected an argument by Andrew’s lawyers that Giuffre’s lawsuit should be thrown out at an early stage because of an old legal settlement she had with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier she claims set up sexual encounters with the prince.

He stressed that he wasn’t ruling on the truth of the allegations.

Andrew's lawyers have said that the royal never sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre and that he “unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations against him.”

Palace officials have declined to comment on the “ongoing legal matter.”

Share:
More In Culture
Northeast Recovering From Weekend Snow Storm
A powerful winter storm hit the Northeast over the weekend leaving 100,000 New Yorkers in the dark as well as snowfall up to 30.9 inches in parts of Massachusetts. The nor'easter hit with blizzard conditions of wind speed and poor visibility.
Unpacking the Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan Vaccine Misinformation PR Crisis on Spotify
After classic rocker Neil Young demanded removal of his music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation coming from The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the platform made the decision to take down Young's songs and continue supporting Rogan with whom they have an exclusive contract. The move touched off a firestorm of controversy, leading to responses from both the streaming service and the podcasting host. Evan Nierman, CEO of Red Banyan Crisis PR, joined Cheddar to break down the latest on the fracas. "I think when [Spotify] initially said, we're not going to be commenting on that, that was a silly move because guess what? They did end up commenting about it, and nine times out of 10, when an organization says they're not going to be issuing a comment, they ultimately do," Nierman noted.
China's Censorship of Hollywood
The 1999 cult classic "Fight Club" has been given a very different ending in China — and this time, the authorities win. Cheddar News speaks with Joan Solsman, senior media reporter at CNET who breaks down how China is using films for political messaging.
NFT Art Platform TRLab Raises $4.2 Million to Bridge Gap Between Traditional and Digital Art
NFT art platform TRLab recently raised $4.2 million in funding. TRLab launched just last year but says its platform focused on NFT curation and distribution is growing quickly. The company hopes to bridge traditional and digital art worlds and help artists explore NFTs as an emerging medium. TRLab co-founder and chairwoman Xin Li-Cohen and co-founder and CEO Audrey Ou joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Load More