When I read the news that Prince Andrew was being sidelined by the royal family, my first reaction was: it’s about time. The second: but why now?

Because there was certainly no need for Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous autobiography, nor for a wave of declassified files linked to Jeffrey Epstein, to outline the murky contours of the story. That Andrea was an integral part of Epstein’s circle had been known for years. That Giuffre had been “made available” by him to the prince when she was still a minor had already been said, written and photographed. And that Andrea had paid over 10 million pounds to avoid a trial, this was also well known. The evidence was there, and if the legal documents or statements weren’t enough, there were those images: the arm around Virginia’s waist, Ghislaine Maxwell in the background.

The victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Already in 2020, the Netflix documentary Filthy Rich presented the case, putting the spotlight on the testimonies of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and the disturbing links with powerful men, including Prince Andrew himself. No more scoops, no more files, no more admissions were needed. The material for the royal family to at least distance itself was already there. Yet, even after the release of that documentary, Buckingham Palace chose silence.

So the point is not the truth, but the timing. Why has the monarchy now decided to cut the cord? Why, after years of embarrassments, silences, clumsy rehabilitations, clumsy attempts to put Andrea back on stage – from official parades to state funerals – has the royal family finally chosen the inevitable?

An obvious answer is the image. The monarchy, in a delicate phase after the accession of Charles and with the figure of William still under construction, can no longer afford gray areas. Andrea has become toxic. Not only for what he did, but also for what he represents: the arrogance of untouchability.

The delicate moment of the English monarchy

And then there is the political question. The Labor government did not hesitate to sideline Peter Mandelson, a historic figure in the party, as soon as his name appeared in Epstein’s files. So how could it seem tolerable that Prince Andrew, involved for years in the same network – with photos, testimonies, multi-million dollar out-of-court settlements – continued to bear the title of Duke of York?

But perhaps – and this is where the picture becomes even darker – what pushed the Crown’s hand was the imminent explosion of another bomb which, this time, would have been impossible to defuse. According to new revelations, the Metropolitan Police were investigating very serious allegations: Prince Andrew allegedly passed Virginia Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his security team in an attempt to obtain information useful to discredit her. The alleged episode dates back to 2011, a few hours before the Mail on Sundaypublished for the first time the photograph portraying the prince with Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell.

According to reports, the personal protection officer did not follow up on the request. However, the matter is now the subject of a formal investigation by the authorities. A source close to Buckingham Palace said the allegations were “very serious and serious” and would need to be “properly investigated”.

The Mail on Sunday confirmed that Andrea would attempt to initiate action to discredit Giuffre around the same time. In his posthumous book, anticipated in an extract published by GuardianGiuffre reiterates her allegations, already known for some time, that she was forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew on three occasions, one of which when she was 17, and another during an orgy, after being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. The prince has always denied any accusation.

Is Prince Andrew innocent?

However, an inevitable question remains: if truly innocent, why would he have first attempted to discredit Giuffre and then close the matter with a financial settlement worth over 10 million pounds? A strategy of silence and containment which today backfires against Buckingham Palace, because the new revelations no longer involve only Andrea, but the institution itself, which can no longer pretend nothing has happened in the face of an ongoing official investigation.

The decision to marginalize him, rather than an act of responsibility, appears to be an emergency intervention: the amputation of a gangrenous limb to prevent the infection from spreading to the body of the monarchy. A calculated, non-moral gesture. And it comes too late for Virginia Giuffre, who for years fought against the silence, the power and the complicity of the institutions, asking only that the truth be recognized officially and publicly. Instead she was discredited, silenced and left alone. Until he chose to take his own life.