'Arrogant, entitled and stupid': Prince Andrew drops titles, but remains in 'cloud of disbelief'

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Days before the autobiography Virgina Giuffre, the first of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to speak publicly, is released, Prince Andrew confirmed he was giving up all his Royal titles – but once again maintained his absolute innocence.
• The Prince previously paid an estimated $12 million to settle a civil case against Giuffre, and The News Agents say he is a prime example of powerful men exerting their power over vulnerable women.
• Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel say the timing may also relate to the health of King Charles, wanting to make sure Prince William isn’t left to deal with the “dodgy uncle problem” when he eventually becomes king.

What’s the story?

The release of Virginia Giuffre’s biography and Prince Andrew giving up his Royal titles are inextricably linked.

In Giuffre’s autobiography, written before she died by suicide in April 2025, she shares explicit details of the abuse she suffered throughout her life, and also claims she had sex with the Prince on three occasions, including a group encounter with eight other young women and Epstein.

It is published this week, days after Prince Andrew renounced his titles.

The Prince has denied any involvement with Giuffre, one of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s many victims, since she first made claims against him in 2019, later paying an undisclosed sum in 2022 after a civil case against him, believed to be around $12 million.

On Friday (17 October 2025), Prince Andrew announced he would no longer use any Royal titles or honours, describing ongoing interest in his close friendship with Epstein as a “continued distraction” from the work of King Charles.

"As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me," the prince added.

The book's release coincides with newly leaked emails which suggest Andrew asked taxpayer-funded security to investigate Giuffre shortly before the photo of the pair was first revealed in 2011.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson has said it expects "more days of pain ahead" as the book, Nobody's Girl, is officially released.

‘Powerful men silencing vulnerable women’

Earlier this month, it emerged that Andrew had sent an email to Epstein, promising the pair would "play some more soon", a year after previously claiming to have cut all ties. Jon Sopel says his continued insistence on his absolute innocence holds little weight.

"It's palpably clear that some of what he's saying is not true, and it makes you question everything else that he said," Jon says.

"He's stood back from his royal duties, and it's probably the best that the Royal Family can hope for.

"He's still going on in a cloud of disbelief, saying everything's fine, that he's done nothing wrong."

But the person most affected by Prince Andrew's denials, Emily Maitlis says, will have been Giuffre herself, before her death.

"She had faced consistent denials about her story from Prince Andrew," Emily says.

"You're back to this place – once again – of powerful men silencing vulnerable women and no one serving justice.

"Prince Andrew, whatever he chooses to use by way of title, whatever note paper he writes on, he is still Prince Andrew, and lives in a 30-bedroom house on the Royal estate."

The Prince resides in Royal Lodge, a huge property in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.

Epstein story ‘so much bigger’ than Prince Andrew

While Prince Andrew has become a central figure in Epstein's abuse of women, this story is not just about him.

It is, Jon adds, a story about powerful men, plural.

"Prince Andrew is almost like a paradigm example of what powerful people can do," he says.

"The FBI wanted to interview him – he wouldn't be interviewed. He could have had his day in court – he chose not to.

"He chose to cough up millions to make the problem go away."

This, the non-disclosure agreements and gagging orders, is why Jon feels hearing news organisations repeating Prince Andrew's denials – when he's had countless opportunities to explain himself, feels so "unsatisfactory".

"Prince Andrew epitomises so much of the story, because it's about wealthy, powerful men and vulnerable women, but it is much, much bigger than him," Emily says.

"The Epstein story goes to New York, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Mexico. It is a global ring of paedophilia, and we don't know the names of many of the other men involved.

"But we don't really know how many other men were involved in this, how many men were complicit in his crimes, or the total number of women that were in his grasp."

Andrew's place in the Royal Family. What comes next?

Jon says that Royal sources have told him that Prince Andrew is currently trying to "cling on to what he's got left".

The ideal solution, he says, would have once been to banish him to a tiny cottage on the Balmoral estate where he would live out his days.

"They say that his arrogance, stupidity, sense of entitlement and thick skin, means that he will just carry on being Prince Andrew and carry on being a thorn in the side of the Royal Family," Jon adds.

Emily says King Charles' health, having been diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, may also be a key factor in the timing of Andrew's decision to give up his titles.

"We know the king has been ill, and there is probably a place in his mind where he's thinking he doesn't want to leave things unsettled," she says.

"He doesn't want to leave the 'dodgy uncle problem' for William."

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