The prince announced his intention to 'step back from public duties for the foreseeable future' after he was widely criticized for his comments during a BBC interview last weekend. He was accused of showing a lack of empathy for Epstein's victims and no remorse over his friendship with the financier. But yesterday's cancelled plans to go to Bahrain proved, however, that he still clearly plans to continue working on private initiatives.
A source close to Andrew tried to put a positive spin on this week's dramatic events, saying: 'Despite everything the duke is getting a lot of support. This really feels like a witch-hunt. He'd been hounded about this since 2011 non stop. So he's very positive about it actually. He can concentrate on clearing his name."
The Duke is now being forced to walk away from some of his most beloved charities and organizations as he starts the humiliating process of withdrawing from public life.
The Outward Bound Trust has announced that Andrew had stepped down as patron. Losing his patronage of the Outward Bound Trust will be a major blow to the duke, who only took over the role earlier this year, succeeding his father, the Duke of Edinburgh. The University of Huddersfield had earlier stood by the duke but later was forced to announce that he was stepping down following an outcry by students.
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions also announced yesterday that the duke was no longer its president. Andrew is patron of around 200 charities and groups and more resignations are now likely to follow. Lawyers for Epstein's victims said they planned to subpoena Andrew, raising the prospect he could be questioned under oath about what he knows.
No comments:
Post a Comment