A look at Prince Andrew’s antics and scandals that have tried royal patience for decades
Prince Andrew of England became forced to give up use of remaining royal titles Following recent revelations about her relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, her brother, King George III. It turned out to be too much of a scandal for Charles.
Andrew’s antics have tested the royal family’s patience for more than 40 years; It triggered embarrassing headlines, lawsuits and suspicions that the prince, now 65, was using his position for personal gain.
Here is the late Queen Elizabeth II. Some of the events that damaged the reputation of Elizabeth’s second son and eventually forced his older brother to remove him from public life.
1984 — Andrew sprayed reporters and photographers with paint while touring a construction project in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. “I like that,” Andrew said, wiping his hands on a scrap of newspaper.
2007 — The prince sells his home in Sunninghill Park, near Windsor Castle, and reports say the buyer paid 20% more than the asking price of 15 million pounds. The buyer was reported to be Timur Kulibayev, the son-in-law of then-Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, raising concerns that the deal was an attempt to buy influence in Britain.
2010 — An undercover reporter posing as a wealthy Arab filmed Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and apparently offered to sell access to the prince for 500,000 pounds ($670,000 at the current exchange rate).
2011 — Andrew is forced to resign as Britain’s special trade envoy following initial reports of his links to Epstein. The prince was also facing questions about his friendship with Said Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and his links to a convicted Libyan arms trafficker.
July 2019 — Epstein is arrested for a second time on sex trafficking charges and later commits suicide in a New York jail cell. The news focuses public attention on allegations that Andrew had sex with at least one underage teenager trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denies the allegations.
16 November 2019 — Andrew tries to stem the barrage of criticism by acknowledging BBC reporter Emily Maitlis’ on-camera argument. The interview backfires when Andrew defends his relationship with Epstein, fails to show empathy for his victims, and offers explanations for his behavior that many people find hard to believe. Andrew says he cut off contact with Epstein in December 2010 and that date will haunt him.
November 20, 2020 – Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew will suspend all royal duties “for the foreseeable future.” Four days later the prince was removed from his position as patron of 230 charities.
2022 — Andrew agrees to settle a civil lawsuit filed in New York by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17. While Andrew did not acknowledge any of Giuffre’s allegations, he did acknowledge that she had suffered as a victim of sexual abuse. Legal experts estimate the undisclosed settlement cost Andrew $10 million.
2024 — Andrew’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy are revealed in court documents. A businessman and suspected spy has been banned from entering the UK due to concerns he poses a threat to national security. Security officials were concerned the man might have abused his influence with Andrew.
April 25, 2025 – Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in Australia, where she had lived since approximately 2002.
October 12, 2025 — British newspapers reveal that Andrew sent an email to Epstein on February 28, 2011, more than two months after the prince told Maitlis that he had cut off all contact with his one-time friend. Andrew wrote the email after continuing media coverage of the Epstein scandal, telling her they were “in this together” and “they need to get through this.”
