'He’s on his own': King Charles reportedly boots Prince Andrew from Buckingham Palace

Julia Johnson

December 25, 01:55 PM December 25, 02:06 PM

Three years after being disgraced and stepping down from his public role in the British royal family, Prince Andrew will now be kicked out of Buckingham Palace by King Charles III, along with what is left of his staff.

The 62-year-old will finally lose his office within the palace complex, according to reports. He had previously been allowed by the late Queen Elizabeth II to retain a small staff at the palace.

“Any presence at the Palace is officially over," a source told the US Sun. "The King has made it clear. He isn’t a working royal. He’s on his own.”

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The prince drew scrutiny in 2019 following the arrest of accused sex trafficker and rapist Jeffrey Epstein due to his relationship with the well-connected financier. Following accusations that Andrew raped then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who further accused Epstein of sex trafficking, among other things, the prince attempted to dispel the allegations in an interview with the BBC.

The interview was considered to have backfired, as numerous organizations began distancing themselves from him soon thereafter. During the appearance, he could not explain the existence of a photo of him and Giuffre after claiming to have never met her.

"It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family's work," he said in a statement afterward. "Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission."

In 2022, the prince was further stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronage. "With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronage have been returned to The Queen," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

In February, Andrew settled a lawsuit with accuser Giuffre outside of court for an undisclosed amount. He further pledged to make a "substantial donation" to her charity for victims' rights, though the settlement did not require that the prince accept any liability.

Leon Black accused of raping woman at Epstein's mansion in new lawsuit

Asher Notheis

November 28, 11:23 PM November 28, 11:23 PM

Former financier and Jeffrey Epstein associate Leon Black has been accused of raping a woman at Epstein's mansion back in 2002, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The woman, Cheri Pierson, claims that Black had physically overwhelmed her without her consent and caused "excruciating pain" when the two were together on the third floor of Epstein's home, according to court documents. The lawsuit from Pierson was flied in a New York state court in Manhattan and seeks unspecified damages from Black for sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress and unspecified damages from Epstein's estate for negligence, according to Reuters.

“Black had the opportunity and the means to rape Ms. Pierson that day because their meeting was pre-arranged by his close friend and confidant, Epstein,” the lawsuit reads.

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In 2002, Pierson was in desperate need of cash as a single mother, and had already given Epstein five massages, getting $300 for each massage, according to court documents. Epstein then arranged for her to massage Black for $300, according to the documents.

Susan Estrich, a lawyer for Black, claims that the lawsuit is "categorically false and part of a scheme to extort money from Mr. Black by threatening to destroy his reputation. ... We intend to defeat these baseless claims."

Black had previously been accused of rape in a lawsuit filed in 2021, when Russian model Guzel Ganieva claimed Black had raped her and paid her to keep quiet about it. Black has denied Ganieva's allegations, calling their relationship a “consensual affair."

Pierson sued under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which went into effect on Thursday and gives sexual assault victims a one-year window to sue their alleged abusers. E. Jean Carroll, who has accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s, filed a new lawsuit under the law on Thursday. Trump denied the claims.