Prince Andrew news – live: Buckingham Palace move called ‘brutal’ as Giuffre speaks out

Virginia Giuffre has sought testimony from Prince Andrew’s former assistant, claiming that he might have “relevant information.”

Lawyers representing Ms Giuffre said that they have “reason to believe” that the prince’s ex-assistant, Robert Olney, has “relevant information” about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The attorneys said in the court papers that they would like to question Mr Olney about “any communications with or regarding plaintiff, to or from any of Jeffrey Epstein’s homes.”

After Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew has been stripped of his military titles and that he shall now defend the civil suit against him as a “private citizen, the rotal commentator Peter Hunt said that the move was “brutal.”

Mr Hunt tweeted: “Brutal. The Windsors have shown that when the institution is under threat, dynastic preservation trumps flesh and blood.”

Prince Andrew has returned his military appointments and patronages “with the Queen’s approval and agreement” and will no longer be known as His Royal Highness.

Meghan Markle could be called as a witness in Prince Andrew’s sexual assault lawsuit, according to Virginia Giuffre’s attorney.

David Boise told The Daily Beast last month that Ms Markle may have “important knowledge” of allegations that Andrew abused his Ms Giuffre three times when she was 17.

“She is somebody we can count on to tell the truth,” Mr Boies said.

Read the full story here.

Girls are supposed to disappear – not grow into smart, together women who live in a time of unprecedented access to instant communication tools such as social media platforms, writes Katy Brand for Independent Voices.

Discussing the news on Loose Women on Friday, Welch admitted that she had “personal beef” with the royal over comments he allegedly made about the Princess of Wales when they met.

“I’ve met him on a few occasions. He really, really upset me once in the way he spoke about his late sister-in-law Diana with such disdain, in front of a group of people such as me, who he didn’t know from a bar of soap,” she said.

“I was horrified by it because it wasn’t really long after [her death].”

Isobel Lewis has the full story.

A federal judge in New York threw out a request by Prince Andrew to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing him of having sex with a 17-year-old girl who was being sex-trafficked by late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, in a bombshell ruling that paves the way for the case to go to trial.

When will the trial begin?

Judge Kaplan has given a timeframe of between September and December 2022 for the trial to commence.

According to the judge’s scheduling order, both parties must disclose expert witnesses by 13 May and rebuttal witnesses one month later.

Discovery of evidence must be completed by 14 July and a joint pretrial proposal filed by 28 July, outlining whether the parties wish to proceed to a jury trial.

However, proceedings could be held up with delays. And Prince Andrew may seek to settle the case before it gets to trial.

Rachel Sharp explains what’s likely to come next.

Prince Charles declined to comment about the Duke of York’s exile from the royal family during a public appearance in Scotland on Friday.

Charles was reportedly “instrumental” in convincing the Queen to effectively cast his brother Andrew out of the royal family and strip him of his military titles.

A Sky News reporter asked Charles about the scandal engulfing his brother Andrew as he visited the Haddo Estate in Aberdeenshire, which was hit by tropical cyclone Storm Arwen late last year.

“Can I ask your view on your brother’s position?”  correspondent James Matthews asked.

Charles offered no response, instead continuing to speak to residents who had been impacted by the storm.

Meanwhile, The Times reports that Andrew’s legal team could hear as soon as this weekend whether Sarah Ferguson and Prince Beatrice will face questioning from Ms Giuffre’s lawyers.

Prince Andrew has been stripped of his honorary military roles by the Queen and will no longer use his HRH title in an official capacity in the wake of his civil sexual assault case.

Read about which other British royals have lost their titles in this piece by Tom Batchelor:

As Prince Andrew now faces a life outside the royal family, stripped of his military roles and his titles, what’s next for him and his family?

Chief US correspondent Andrew Buncombe reports on how this current saga might affect the royals.

Virginia Giuffre has said that the Prince Andrew sex assault trial will be “a chance to expose the truth” after a US judge allowed her case against the Queen’s son to proceed.

Her first comments on a federal judge’s decision to deny Andrews motion to dismiss her lawsuit comes after his military titles and royal patronages were stripped off by the Queen.

Ms Giuffre addressed the matter in a string of tweets on Thursday night, saying she was “pleased” that the case would move to trial.

“I’m pleased with Judge Kaplan’s ruling yesterday that allows my case against Prince Andrew to go forward. I’m glad I will have the chance to continue to expose the truth & I am deeply grateful to my extraordinary legal team,” she wrote on Twitter.

Graeme Massie has the full story.