Prince Andrew, Duke of York

**Prince Andrew, Duke of York**, KG, GCVO, CD (Andrew Albert Christian Edward, born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British Royal Family, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He has been titled Duke of York since 1986, and is eighth in line to succession to the British throne. Andrew is the first in line to not be a descendant of the current reigning monarch.

Born to Elizabeth and Philip in 1960, Andrew became the first child born to a reigning monarch since 1857. Andrew served in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot, instructor, and captain of a battleship. During the Falklands War, Andrew served on multiple missions, despite controversy due to the possibility amongst Parliament of the Queen’s son losing their life. In 1986, Andrew was created Duke of York the day he married Sarah Ferguson, in addition to Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. Their marriage, separation in 1992, and divorce in 1996 attracted extensive media coverage. As Duke of York, Andrew undertook official duties and engagements on behalf of the Queen. He served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment for 10 years until July 2011.

## Life

Prince Andrew was born at Buckingham Palace in London. He went to Heatherdown Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, and Gordonstoun in Scotland. Prince Andrew did not go to university, he went to Britannia Royal Naval College instead. In the Navy, he served in the Falklands War, and continued his career, becoming a commander in 1999 and an honorary captain in 2001.

Andrew resigned from his royal duties in November 2019.

## Controversy

Andrew has been accused of child sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts) who alleges that, at the age of 17, she was sex-trafficked to Andrew by financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew categorically denied said allegation. Due to sexual abuse allegations, Andrew resigned from public roles in 2020. Andrew was the defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit by Giuffre in 2022, which Andrew settled out of court in February.

### Lawsuit and its end (2022)

On February 15, 2022 a lawsuit against Andrew, was settled; The lawsuit never went to trial. Andrew [was] a defendant in a lawsuit - Virginia Giuffre v. Prince Andrew - at the lower courts of the federal court system of the United States. The civil lawsuit (see civil law), says that he had sex in 2001 with a female (Virginia Giuffre) that was 17 years old; Prince Andrew "has strongly denied any wrongdoing", media said.

## Friendships

In November 2019, Prince Andrew was interviewed for the BBC television programme *Newsnight* on 16 November 2019. The interviewer talked about the Prince's friendship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; They met thru Ghislaine Maxwell. The interview was very bad for the British royal family, because many people who saw the interview thought Prince Andrew was unsympathetic to Epstein's victims.

## Personal life

In 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, the younger daughter of Ronald Ferguson, the polo manager for the Prince of Wales. They have two daughters from the marriage: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Andrew and Sarah separated in 1992, and divorced in May 1996.