Prince Andrew has reportedly deleted his social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as he faces a lawsuit over sexual abuse claims from an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew has denied all allegations.
“Channels are in the process of being removed,” a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said, according to The Washington Post on Thursday.
A Facebook page remains live but shows the latest post from 2020.
Prince Andrew’s Instagram handle @hrhthedukeofyork leads to a page that states, “The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
The prince’s Twitter account @thedukeofyork shows, “This account does not exist.” His YouTube account is also no longer searchable.
The Daily Mail reported that “all of his social media channels had now been removed and were no longer live, but some of them were taking longer to filter through. The source said: ‘The changes have been made to reflect the recent statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York.'”
Prince Andrew's social media accounts have been deleted or made private after the Queen stripped him of his military titles https://t.co/XQmfSV7htM
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 20, 2022
The actions follow an announcement last week that Prince Andrew was being stripped of military affiliations and patronages over allegations of sexual abuse from nearly two decades ago.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen,” according to a statement, Sky News reported.
The news included the discontinuation of the title “His Royal Highness” according to a Buckingham Palace official.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein, who has claimed she was forced to have sex with the British leader when she was 17 years old. She alleges the actions took place in London, New York, and on Epstein’s private island.
The prince faces the legal case in New York as a private citizen following the recent announcement. A judge rejected the prince’s attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out.
The Daily Wire previously reported:
This news follows the ruling on Wednesday that the civil sexual assault case leveled against Prince Andrew in a New York court may go ahead.
“Plaintiff Virginia Roberts Giuffre brings this action against Defendant Prince Andrew, Duke of York, for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In short, she alleges that the late Jeffrey Epstein and others trafficked her to Prince Andrew who took advantage of the situation by sexually abusing her when she was under the age of eighteen,” Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York explained in a 46-page decision.
Prince Andrew’s legal team had argued that the previously secret 2009 agreement between his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein would release the British royal from liability, even though the now-unveiled documents make no mention of Andrew by name.
“The settlement signed by Prince Andrew’s accuser that the Duke hopes will lead to the dismissal of her sex assault lawsuit against him was unsealed today,” The Daily Mail reported. “Signed in 2009, Virginia Giuffre agreed to be paid $500,000 by Jeffrey Epstein to resolve the sex abuse case against him.”