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Queen Warns Photographers to Stay Away From Her Son Prince Andrew at Balmoral, report says

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Updated on June 17, 2023

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The queen has ordered British media organizations not to photograph a disgraced Prince Andrew holidaying at his mother’s private Scottish home, The Daily Beast can exclusively report.

“Lawyers from British firm Farrer & Co, acting for Her Majesty, wrote to major British newspapers on the same day that Andrew arrived at Balmoral, warning the publications against taking or publishing pictures of the royal family or their guests,” according to The Daily Beast. According to the document received by the magazine, Balmoral “is a private estate and whilst there the royal family and their guests have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

“I’ve never seen a warning like this before from the queen’s lawyers. It’s clearly to keep people away from Prince Andrew. There is no coincidence in the timing coming after Virginia Roberts filed her lawsuit against Andrew,” a British newspaper editor told the Daily Beast.

The letters were sent out to media groups, according to sources at the palace, but they noted that such letters were given out “every holiday” and that it was not unusual.

According to the Daily Beast, a source at one publication suggested that the queen, and maybe the rest of the royal family, wants to keep Andrew from being photographed while receiving legal paperwork. The palace may be concerned that David Boies, the media-friendly American lawyer who brought the action on behalf of accuser Guiffre, may arrange such a spectacle in order to further humiliate Andrew.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Prince Andrew on Aug. 9, 2021, alleging that he had sex with her three times when she was under the age of 18. “Virginia is committed to trying to avoid situations where rich and powerful people escape any accountability for their actions,” Giuffre’s attorney, David Boies, told ABC News.

Giuffre, now 38, alleges she was flown to London, New York, and Epstein’s own island in the Caribbean by Epstein and his accused co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to have sex with Andrew. She claims she was “forced against her will to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew.” “First-degree rape” is one of the charges included in the complaint. Andrew also allegedly knew that she was being trafficked by Epstein, according to Giuffre.

Officials who were supposed to deliver the papers to the prince arrived in Windsor expecting to see Andrew riding his horse. “Processors were on the ground on Monday when the papers were filed in Manhattan hoping to hand them to him if he went out on his horse,” a source told The Mirror (per Express). Andrew, on the other hand, had already left for his mother’s vacation house in Scotland.

The queen’s decision to send the letter the day after the lawsuit was filed is likely to stoke speculation that she is using her immense domestic power to protect her favorite son.

So far, sheltering “behind palace walls,” and maybe under his mother’s protection, appears to be working in Andrew’s favor.

The claims made by Roberts Giuffre have been refuted by Prince Andrew.

Since his arrival in Balmoral, Andrew has not been spotted at Crathie Kirk, a small church near Balmoral frequented by the royals. The church is on public ground, which means Andrew may be photographed and/or served papers, according to the source.

The duke has avoided being questioned by the FBI for the last two years about his association with Epstein and what he knew about the late pedophile’s alleged trafficking network. Andrew vowed to assist with US authorities when he stepped away from his duties in 2019 due to the incident.