The royal family's PR machine is working overtime to try and categorically shoot down the claims of a woman who insists she was a "sex slave" to Prince Andrew more than a decade ago when she was still a teenager. The allegations were made as part of a civil suit against already-convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was once one of the Duke of York's best friends. Andrew cut his holiday on the ski slopes short in order to return to Buckingham Palace to face Queen Elizabeth II Sunday, Jan. 4.
The royal family has now issued a few statements, emphatically denying the claims that Virginia Roberts has made against Andrew, and even his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has spoken out on his behalf, but this scandal does not seem like it is going away anytime soon. While Elizabeth is and always has been as strong and stoic as it gets, her health is failing and she has heart issues that do not need to be compounded by this sort of stress. According to a report by Radar Online, she is mortified that her favorite son is being accused of such impropriety.
No matter what the real truth is, Andrew is unlikely to face any type of criminal punishment because he is protected under a deal that Epstein took when dealing with the government. That does not mean he will escape the wreckage of this kind of scandal unscathed, though.
Readers: What do you make of the situation? Do you think the royal spinners will be able to dig him out of this with his reputation even slightly in check, or do you believe this is the last kind of scandal a man once referred to as "Randy Andy" needs? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
