‘No easy options for Prince Andrew or the Palace’

The British royal family earlier this month removed Prince Andrew’s military links and military patronages, and said the second son of Queen Elizabeth would no longer be known as “His Royal Highness.”

Andrew on Wednesday asked for a U.S. jury trial as he again denied Virginia Giuffre’s accusations that he sexually abused her more than two decades ago when she was 17.

According a royal correspondent, the British royal family wants to avoid Prince Andrew’s trial overshadowing the Queen's jubilee year.

Richard Palmer said, “There's no doubt the Royal Family would like this to go away but there are no easy options for Andrew or the palace. His lawyers' fairly standard response to Ms Giuffre's legal claim leaves it open for Andrew to fight it out in open court, get the case halted, or settle.”

He said, “But all of those options risk huge reputational damage to the British monarchy. Ms Giuffre has suggested she'd only settle if Andrew admitted wrongdoing but even without that, the risk is the public will think the Queen's son did sleep with a sex trafficked teenager if he settles.”

Palmer added, “There is also the matter of Andrew's refusal to cooperate with FBI investigators seeking to interview him as a witness in a criminal investigation of course.”