It was the document dump that Prince Andrew was dreading. Just before Christmas, New York district judge Loretta Preska ruled court papers naming associates of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein could be unsealed by a U.S. court and should no longer remain secret, as many of the individuals mentioned have already given media interviews.
At the time of this writing, thousands of pages of documents have been released, naming around 170 individuals and in which Prince Andrew's name is mentioned – a lot.
Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied his links to Jeffrey Epstein after the financier was arrested and charged with one count of sex trafficking a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, to which he plead not guilty and was denied bail. He was later found dead in his jail cell in New York.
In an infamous interview with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, the Duke of York talked about his relationship with Epstein, who he stayed with in 2010 after Epstein was released from prison in Florida after serving an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. Prince Andrew conceded this was a lack of judgment on his part, but did not express any sympathy for Epstein’s victims or apologize for his behaviour.
There were also questions about his relationship with Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sexual encounters with Prince Andrew. He denied any wrongdoing and settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed amount, thought to be around £12 million in February 2022. He stepped back from public duties and the Queen stripped him of his HRH title, military titles and royal patronages.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who sued wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein over alleged sexual abuse and accused him and Ghislaine Maxwell of pressuring her into sexual trysts with other powerful men, speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019 (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
The recent unsealing of the fifth and final batch of documents means that once again the focus is on Prince Andrew, his dealings with Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse.
We saw Prince Andrew over Christmas, attending the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church near Sandringham with the rest of the Royal Family.
He seemed relaxed while front and centre with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who was spending Christmas with the Royals for the first time in 32 years.
Princess Anne with her husband Timothy Laurence, right, and Prince Andrew arrive to attend the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in Norfolk, England, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
But now it looks like there is no going back for Prince Andrew, now that the latest unsealed documents put the spotlight back on his association with Epstein, and include an allegation that the prince groped a woman at Epstein's New York City home in 2021.
King Charles III is coming under increasing pressure to do something about his now disgraced brother. There are reports that he could force Prince Andrew to pay for his own security which could run into millions of pounds. Unlike Prince Harry, who also pays for his own security but had a lucrative income, Andrew has no real income to speak of apart from help from the Royal purse. How he could pay for his own security remains to be seen.
There were also that Prince Andrew could be evicted from Royal Lodge, the 30-bedroom Royal residence where he now resides along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, into the smaller Frogmore Cottage, once occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Although the now quotes a source saying that such an eviction won't happen.
There are also questions about Prince Andrew remaining a prince at all. Does the King have the power to strip him of his titles and should he even wield that power? When Prince Andrew stepped back from public life, the Queen took away his HRH title, his military titles and his Royal patronages. But he kept his title of the Duke of York and his place in the line of succession, which is 8th, as well as his role as a Counsellor of State (royals who can stand in for the monarch on official duties if he is abroad or unwell).
The truth is, King Charles III cannot take the title of Prince away from his brother – not yet anyway. According to Gert's Royals -- a blog about royal families -- the King doesn't have the power to remove the royal titles.
“Parliament can remove titles. But they will find it difficult in this case. The legislative branch (Parliament) or executive branch (Honors Forfeiture Committee) don’t have the powers to decide if someone is guilty of a crime,†the . “It is the judicial branch (Courts)’s job to determine if someone is guilty. And then other branches can act on that decision. And since there have never been any charges or conviction against Prince Andrew, in the eyes of the U.K. government, he is innocent.â€
There is a bill that is currently going through Parliament to allow the King to have these powers, but it’s in the very first stage, meaning there is a long way to go before this could ever become law. There is no indication that Parliament wants to do this at this moment. So Prince Andrew remains a Counsellor of State, along with Queen Camilla and the first four people in the line of succession to the throne who are over the age of 21, namely Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and Andrew's eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice.
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and first lady Melania Trump, left, accompanied by Britain's Prince Andrew, leave after a tour of Westminster Abbey in London, June 3, 2019 (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
In 2022, Princess Anne and Prince Edward were made additional Counsellors of State so we could avoid the rather embarrassing situation where Prince Andrew has to step into the King’s shoes in his absence.
There is no doubt that this ever-swirling scandal is not helping the popularity of the Royal Family. Prince Andrew was already the least favourite member of the Firm with the latest polls showing of those asked having a positive opinion of him.
In a separate poll, thought that he should be investigated by the Metropolitan Police over allegations of sexual abuse.
The court of public opinion on social media have already made up their minds when it comes to Prince Andrew – where there’s smoke, or in this case, your name appearing in unsealed files relating to a sex offender hundreds of times, there’s fire.
With Prince Andrew reportedly after the release of the new court documents, unable to face this new wave of allegations, it seems King Charles III will have an ‘Andrew problem’ on his hands well into 2024.
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It's the government's latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000.
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
Authorities say they believe the body of a man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a Kentucky interstate highway has been found.
A Saskatchewan organization is breaking ground as the first to commercially produce rare earth metals in North America.
Jeremy Dutcher made Canadian music history Tuesday night by winning a second Polaris Music Prize for his second album, Motewolonuwok.
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home – which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago – has become an “eyesore,†according to a recent court decision.
A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
A 29-year-old Quebec woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a five-year-old boy southwest of Montreal.
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled in Winnipeg a new toonie, which began circulating Wednesday, highlighting the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to a new sexual assault charge on Wednesday, nearly five months after the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul's earlier sex crimes conviction in New York was overturned.
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy Combs asked a judge Wednesday to let him await his sex trafficking trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, rather than a grim federal jail in Brooklyn.
A longtime CIA officer who drugged, photographed and sexually assaulted more than two dozen women in postings around the world was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Wednesday.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La'Quetta, the city's superintendent of schools, have been indicted on child endangerment and other charges for allegedly beating their teenage daughter on numerous occasions, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Iranian hackers sought to interest U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign in information stolen from rival Donald Trump's campaign, the FBI and other federal agencies said Wednesday.
Elon Musk is using his social media platform to promote misinformation about the U.S. presidential candidates in the lead up to the November election, amplifying false claims Wednesday about a Trump rally bomb threat and immigrants eating pets in Ohio.
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
Two Liberal ministers are accusing Conservatives of lending their support to protesters who harassed Jagmeet Singh, among others, outside of Parliament Hill this week.
New federal legislation introduced Wednesday aims to give Jasper full authority over local land planning and development rather than Parks Canada.
Supervised injection sites are saving the lives of drug users everyday, but the same support is not being offered to people who inhale illicit drugs, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS says.
The group representing Canada's physicians has formally apologized for the harm medical professionals caused to Indigenous Peoples, saying it is 'deeply ashamed' and 'owning its history' of racism, neglect and abuse.
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Elon Musk is using his social media platform to promote misinformation about the U.S. presidential candidates in the lead up to the November election, amplifying false claims Wednesday about a Trump rally bomb threat and immigrants eating pets in Ohio.
A Saskatchewan organization is breaking ground as the first to commercially produce rare earth metals in North America.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
Jeremy Dutcher made Canadian music history Tuesday night by winning a second Polaris Music Prize for his second album, Motewolonuwok.
MrBeast is accused of creating 'unsafe' employment conditions, including sexual harassment, and misrepresenting contestants' odds at winning his new Amazon reality show's US$5 million grand prize in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five unnamed participants.
Lawyers for Sean "Diddy Combs asked a judge Wednesday to let him await his sex trafficking trial at his luxury home on an island near Miami Beach, rather than a grim federal jail in Brooklyn.
Low entry-level pay in the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement, some aviators and experts say.
Some Brazilian users reconnected with X on Wednesday despite the Supreme Court's recent nationwide ban, the result of the social network apparently changing the way its servers are accessed. The reunion may be short-lived, however.
A report led by the Canada Research Chair in Urban Governance says restrictions on short-term rentals in British Columbia have reduced rents by 5.7 per cent, saving tenants more than $600 million last year
Buying a historic cruise ship he found on Craigslist back in 2008 was undoubtedly a life-altering decision for Chris Willson. In October 2023, Willson made the painful decision to sell the vessel, which began sinking around seven months later. Now its future looks bleak.
Two lucky people in Ontario and Quebec will split Tuesday’s record-breaking $80-million Lotto Max jackpot.
Michelin has awarded a star to four new restaurants in its Toronto guide — but three of them aren't in the city at all.
Matthew Tkachuk estimated that he tells a story about Johnny Gaudreau's exploits, both the on-ice and off-ice variety, to somebody at least once a week.
Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark both broke WNBA records Sunday, with Wilson becoming the first player to score 1,000 points in a single season and Clark breaking the rookie scoring record.
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua revealed Tuesday he underwent cancer treatment over the summer, and will not be ready to play when the team's training camp begins later this week.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."
A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.
An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.
If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge’s 100th birthday cake, you’ll see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.
Two sisters have finally been reunited with a plane their father built 90 years ago, that is also considered an important part of Canadian aviation history.
Just over one month before British Columbians head to the polls, public safety – and perceptions of public safety – appear to be issues that will dominate on the campaign trail.
A new report from the Hospital Employees Union details how B.C. led among provinces in protecting long-term care residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supervised injection sites are saving the lives of drug users everyday, but the same support is not being offered to people who inhale illicit drugs, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS says.
Two people are dead following an early-morning shooting at a park in a quiet neighbourhood in Keswick, York Regional Police say. Police confirmed just before 11 a.m. that they were investigating a double homicide at Bayview Park. YRP said they responded to the sounds of gunshots at the park just before 7:30 a.m.
Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell's 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
A heavy police presence could be seen at a property in the southeast Calgary community of Valleyfield on Wednesday.
A Calgary man has been charged with sexual assault and sexual interference in relation to an incident with a 12-year-old child that took place in the southeast Calgary community of Walden.
A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
A search is underway in the Ottawa River for a 30-year-old woman reported missing while kayaking near Pembroke, Ont.
Parents and guardians of students who were supposed to be attending a new high school in Stittsville gathered at a nearby elementary school for a public meeting on the ongoing delays keeping Maplewood Secondary School closed.
Photographs of eyeglasses with an apparent broken arm, a purse with a "severed" strap and a reusable bag filled with groceries at the bottom of a staircase were among those shown to the jury at the first-degree murder trial of Hamid Ayoub Wednesday morning.
A 29-year-old Quebec woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a five-year-old boy southwest of Montreal.
The Laval health authority, CISSS de Laval, says dozens of children need foster care, but there aren't enough families to take them in. The agency is now asking people to open their homes and provide these children with the stability they need.
Thanks to a generous donation, the Montreal Children’s Hospital will now be able to double the number of cancer trials it offers to young patients.
A 52-year-old man is facing sexual assault charges in connection with the assault of a teen boy.
Police say a fire in a southwest Edmonton neighbourhood early this morning is "suspicious."
A man wanted in connection with the death of his partner has been arrested.
New Brunswick’s Green Party has officially launched its fall campaign, on the eve of a provincial election call.
Transport Canada has ordered a bankrupt tidal power company and a bankruptcy trustee to produce a plan to remove four huge moorings abandoned in the water near Walton, N.S.
A Woods Harbour, N.S., man is facing dozens of charges after police seized weapons and drugs from South Shore homes last Friday.
A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.
More than $300,000 worth of stolen vehicles were seized from a Winnipeg compound earlier this month, police announced Wednesday.
The City of Winnipeg is moving toward a new and improved 911 system, but a plan to pay for it has hit a snag.
Regina Executive Committee has passed the purchase of a new building for a low-barrier homeless shelter in Regina.
A tornado warning is in place for parts of southeast Saskatchewan on Wednesday evening.
An ongoing investigation into drug trafficking has resulted in the seizure of cocaine in Yorkton, according to RCMP.
Police are hoping the public can help them locate three missing people from Kitchener.
The federal government is reducing its 2025 international student study permits by another 10 per cent from the 2024 target.
Residents in Blair say they’re concerned with the potential noise and traffic that will come with the newest Amazon fulfilment centre set to open this month.
Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
May 9, 2022 was the day Blayne McKay thought he was going to die. He called his wife to say goodbye, after getting electrocuted at the SaskPower Island Falls Hydroelectric Station, about 100 kilometres northwest of Flin Flon.
Some Greater Sudbury Police officers will wear body-worn cameras as part of a pilot project beginning in 2025.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
A detour is now available after Highway 101 closed in both directions between Foleyet and Highway 144, police said Wednesday.
The mother and brother of an 18-year-old who was shot and killed during a teen field party more than three years ago gave emotional victim impact statements on Wednesday.
Around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10, OPP, EMS, and local fire services were called to the scene of a two-vehicle collision on Egremont Road in Warwick Township.
Fanshawe College is being sued over supposed deficiencies in its paralegal program. A proposed class action seeks $10 million in damages on behalf of hundreds of students enrolled in the college's paralegal program since 2020.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Check your lottery tickets because someone who purchased a ticket in Grey County is an overnight multi-millionaire, having won half of the historic lottery jackpot.
York Regional Police say two people are dead after a shooting at a park in the community of Keswick.
People who live and work along Tecumseh Road East say they are frustrated by months-long construction that has blocked portions of the sidewalk and kept customers away from businesses.
The Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville has been given clearance to study ducks and geese with use of GPS transmitter technology.
A new after-school program aims to put the power of drawing in the hands of kids in Windsor’s west-end.
British Columbia's police oversight agency says there are no grounds for criminal charges against four Mounties after a man's arm was broken during an arrest on Vancouver Island.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix says minimum nurse-to-patient ratios meant to improve care and strengthen the health-care system have now been established for most hospital settings.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
More than a year after a missing Kamloops, B.C., woman’s body was found, her son has been arrested and charged with her murder, Mounties announced Friday.
A woman suffered life-threatening injuries after being stabbed during a home invasion in Kelowna, according to authorities.
A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.
Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.
The City of Lethbridge's encampment response team continues to see a rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the summer months.
North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.
Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.
A 50-year-old man in the Sault has been charged following an assault on Saturday that involved the use of a hammer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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