Palace is using Meghan to divert attention away from Prince Andrew

A lawyer claims the palace is utilizing Meghan to divert attention away from Prince Andrew.

Buckingham Palace's efforts to investigate abuse charges against the Duchess of Sussex was a “calculated decision,” according to a US representative representing some of the women who said they were victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

“The charges levied against him are much greater than those leveled against Meghan Markle. “Prince Andrew was a working royal when he became acquainted with sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein,” Gloria Allred stated.

“Prince Andrew is guilty of something worse than office intimidation or harassment,” said the lawyer, who is defending 20 people who say they were victims of the disgraced US financier. The lawyer does not represent Virginia Giuffre, the woman who brought the accusations against the prince.

Allred and others have been lobbying for the prince, who disputes the charges, to agree to an in-person interview with US federal investigators and prosecutors looking into Epstein's and his associates' abuses.

Last month, the lawyer arranged for a US-style school bus to ride across London, even past Buckingham Palace, with a note on the hand demanding that the prince talk with the FBI.

“Why should Buckingham Palace not perform an inquiry and make a formal statement criticizing Prince Andrew for failure to give what is demanded to all who are demanding the whole truth and accountability for the victims of crimes against children?” Allred questioned in a statement published on Monday.

“Why hasn't Prince Andrew been stripped of his royal titles, as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been? He hasn't brought any prestige or reverence to his position as a royal.”

“The probe into Meghan Markle is a diversion, and it seems hypocritical under the circumstances,” Allred said. I have to ask whether it was a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from Prince Andrew.

“The palace is long overdue to shift its focus and declare that it is undertaking its own inquiry into Prince Andrew. It can also release an urgent declaration criticizing Prince Andrew for failure to have complete in-person assistance in the US Justice Department's continuing criminal investigation.”

Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein

The Royal Family has been slammed by opponents for singling out Meghan Markle while being gentle on Prince Andrew, who is suspected of having sex with a minor and for his links to American hedge fund billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in jail in August 2019 while facing trial.

The US Justice Department suspected Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, of operating a racket in which girls as young as 14 were abducted to his homes and abused by him. Epstein reportedly coerced the girls to give him naked and semi-naked massages and sexual activities.

Former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew, were said to be part of Epstein's inner circle.

Accusations leveled against Andrew

The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. He is the eighth in line to the British throne, at the age of 61.

Andrew was appointed as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in 2001, but he had to resign in 2011 after being chastised for his links to Epstein and other notorious personalities.

Virginia Giuffre, an American woman, said in 2015 that she was trafficked to Prince Andrew when she was 17 by Epstein, who kept her as a sex slave. Andrew also refuted Giuffre's allegations that she had sex with him on three separate occasions in 2001.

Andrew was heavily chastised in late 2019 for an interview he gave to the BBC about the Epstein tragedy, in which several audiences said he refused to express remorse for Epstein's victims. Later, he was required to retire from his royal duties.

Andrew was an individual of concern in the Epstein case in the United States, and the US Department of Justice also sent a joint legal aid order to the UK's Home Office to officially interrogate Andrew in 2020. Andrew was publicly accused by US prosecutors that year of offering “zero assistance” in the investigation.