The dark secrets of the British royal family

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein - You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends. In 2011, it emerged that the Prince was good friends with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was an American financier who was found guilty of soliciting prostitution from children in June 2008. He dodged punishment for years, and then in August 2019 he killed himself in a Manhattan federal jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

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Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein -

Epstein allegedly "loaned" girls to powerful people to ingratiate himself with them and to gain possible material for blackmail. In 2015, it was reported that there was evidence indicating that one such man may have been Prince Andrew. A prominent Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, alleged that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her in 2001 when she was 17.

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Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein -

In 2021, Giuffre filed a federal lawsuit against Prince Andrew. The lawsuit is the first formal confrontation of the prince, whom Giuffre says assaulted her at Ghislaine Maxwell's London home, Epstein's New York mansion, and on Epstein's private island. Despite Prince Andrew's attempts to have the lawsuit dismissed, it was confirmed in January 2022 that the case would proceed. Within 48 hours, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew was being stripped of his military titles and the charities he was assigned to. He is no longer allowed to use the title "His Royal Highness."

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Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein -

A little over a month later, the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement. On February 15, Giuffre's attorney filed a letter with a federal court in New York that said the parties will dismiss the case after Giuffre receives an undisclosed amount within 30 days. "Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights," the letter read, per E! News. "Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks."

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Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile -

Prince Charles seems to be at the heart of most of the scandals to embroil the British royal family. Most recently, he has been associated with the prolific British child abuser, Jimmy Savile. A Netflix documentary released on April 6 delves into the horrific story of Savile, a man who used his power as a beloved TV personality to cover up decades of sexual abuse against vulnerable children. The Metropolitan Police estimated that the total number of victims was 589, most of whom were under the age of 18. His crimes weren't properly investigated until after his death in 2011, despite decades of rumors and accusations.

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Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile -

The docuseries, 'Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story,' bears many revelations, of one which was Savile's close relationship with Prince Charles. Director Rowan Deacon "gained access to dozens of letters in which the prince regularly sought guidance from the presenter." The future king first wrote to Savile in 1986 looking for advice on reaching a wider audience. For the next 20 years, Savile served as an unofficial press advisor to Prince Charles. A 1989 letter from Savile outlined his guidelines for how he believed the royal family should publicly respond to significant incidents and disasters, to which Charles responded that he had shared with the Queen. Other sources even suggest that he looked to Savile for informal counseling when his marriage to Princess Diana was falling apart. "He was duped, like we all were," Deacon says. "The letters show the trust that Prince Charles put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernise. And he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that. In hindsight, that was catastrophic."

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Prince Charles and the "cash-for-honors" scandal -

Prince Charles' affair with Camilla Parker Bowles during his marriage to Princess Diana is one of the biggest scandals in the history of the British royal family. However, the future king is currently in hot water due to another matter. The CEO of Charles' charitable organization, The Prince's Foundation, has stepped down amid accusations that he helped to secure an honorary title for a major donor. It's alleged that he had been working with paid intermediaries to arrange favors or access to the royal family in exchange for large donations to the foundation

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Prince Charles and the "cash-for-honors" scandal - A Russian banker called Dmitry Leus was accused of money laundering, but after making a £500,000 (US$683,200) donation, his conviction was overturned. A Chinese businessman wanted in Taiwan for money laundering has also made a £500,000 donation to the foundation. Reports suggest that these donations were payment for some sort of favor from the British crown, such as British citizenship, honorary titles, and face-to-face meetings with Prince Charles. Prince Charles denies any knowledge of the shady transactions, but the investigation is still ongoing.

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Simon Bowes-Lyon pleads guilty to sexual assault -

Simon Bowes-Lyon, Earl of Strathmore, was jailed on February 23, 2021, after being sentenced to 10 months for sexually assaulting a woman who was a guest at his ancestral castle in Scotland, Page Six reports. Bowes-Lyon had pled guilty to assaulting the 26-year-old woman in February 2020 in a bedroom at Glamis Castle, which was the childhood home of the Queen’s late mother. A first cousin twice removed of the Queen, the Earl said he was “greatly ashamed of my actions which have caused such distress to a guest in my home."

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Princess Beatrice dated a killer - When she was just 17, Princess Beatrice of York dated convicted killer Paolo Liuzzo.

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Princess Beatrice dated a killer - In 2002, Paolo Liuzzo was part of a savage attack on a fellow student that left the victim dead. He broke his probation to go to the French Alps for a ski trip.

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Princess Beatrice dated a killer - Princess Beatrice and the convicted killer separated in 2006. Liuzzo was later charged with numerous offenses, including possessing cocaine after he crashed a hired Audi into traffic lights on Australia's Gold Coast.

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Charles and Camilla indulged in graphic exchanges over the phone - The long-term affair between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles was no secret, but the public got to know a little more than they wanted in 1992.

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Charles and Camilla indulged in graphic exchanges over the phone - A phone conversation between the two was leaked, in which Charles expressed the desire to live inside Camilla’s trousers as "a pair of knickers" or "a Tampax."

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Charles and Camilla indulged in graphic exchanges over the phone - Both Charles and Camilla were still married at the time of the call and when it was leaked to the tabloids.

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Diana threw herself downstairs while pregnant - In recordings made public in 2004, Diana talked about how unhappy she was and her struggle with depression and her attempts to take her own life.

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Diana threw herself downstairs while pregnant - She claimed that she threw herself down the stairs when she was three months pregnant with Prince William, landing at the feet of the Queen.

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Sarah Ferguson tried to sell access to Prince Andrew - In 2010, it was reported that the former Duchess of York sold access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.

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Sarah Ferguson tried to sell access to Prince Andrew - She promised to obtain access to her former husband in return for £500,000 (about US$645,000). It was reported that she was recorded offering an undercover reporter "everything you would ever wish for. I can open any door you want, and I will for you. Look after me and he'll look after you… you'll get it back tenfold."

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Sarah Ferguson tried to sell access to Prince Andrew - The ex-wife of the Queen's son reportedly told the reporter that she "has zero money" after taking a divorce settlement of just £15,000 (about US$19,000).

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Sarah Ferguson tried to sell access to Prince Andrew - She later issued a statement: "I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused. It is true that my financial situation is under stress however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment and I am very sorry that this has happened."

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Prince Andrew introduced the Queen to a controversial actress - In the early 1980s, a young Prince Andrew was spotted in the Caribbean with a beautiful woman.

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Prince Andrew introduced the Queen to a controversial actress - The tabloids identified her as Koo Stark, an American actress who had appeared in erotic films.

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Prince Andrew introduced the Queen to a controversial actress - Reporters found that the Prince had earlier taken Koo Stark to meet his family at Balmoral and possibly even introduced her to his mother. Buckingham Palace issued a statement that, "We do not know if the Queen was aware of the girl’s acting career before she was invited to Balmoral."

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Prince Charles was a teenage drinker - When he was just 14, Prince Charles ordered a cherry brandy at a pub in Stornoway.

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Prince Charles was a teenage drinker - Unfortunately for the young prince, a tabloid reporter overheard him order and the incident made headlines.

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Is Princess Michael of Kent racist? - Princess Michael of Kent reportedly has two black sheep that she named Venus and Serena Williams.

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Is Princess Michael of Kent racist? - She also wore a Blackamoor brooch to the Queen's Christmas lunch, where she met Meghan Markle. Blackamoor jewelry romanticizes slavery and is generally considered racially insensitive today.

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Is Princess Michael of Kent racist? -

In 2004, she reportedly told a group of black patrons at a New York City restaurant to "go back to the colonies." She then told the New York Post, "I did not say ‘back to the colonies.' I said ‘you should remember the colonies.’ Back in the days of the colonies, there were rules that were very good."

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Mike Tindall went to a dwarf-tossing club - In 2011, Zara Phillips' rugby playing husband and several of his teammates admitted attending a dwarf-tossing event in a New Zealand bar.

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Mike Tindall went to a dwarf-tossing club - He later said that he did not regret attending the tasteless event and that "not one player threw a dwarf."

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Mike Tindall went to a dwarf-tossing club - Actor Peter Dinklage used his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes the next year to condemn the event, asking viewers to look up Martin Henderson.

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Mike Tindall went to a dwarf-tossing club - Henderson was injured when he was picked up and dropped on the floor by a drunken crowd, which was blamed on the antics of the England rugby team.

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Edward VIII had Nazi connections - King Edward abdicated from the throne after less than a year to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

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Edward VIII had Nazi connections - But the real cause for concern was the couple's ties to the Nazi party. Before, during, and after World War II, they were suspected of being Nazi sympathizers. In 1937, they toured Germany as guests of Adolf Hitler.

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Edward VIII had Nazi connections - In 1940, the Duke was appointed governor of the Bahamas, in what is regarded as a political attempt to distance the former monarch from the Nazi party.

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Prince Philip's mom was committed to an asylum and became a nun -

Princess Alice of Battenberg, who had been born deaf, was committed to a secure psychiatric sanatorium in 1931 after suffering a nervous breakdown.

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Prince Philip's mom was committed to an asylum and became a nun -

The strain of being exiled from Greece took its toll on the Princess, and her religious beliefs became extreme. By 1930, she was reportedly hearing voices and believed she was having physical relationships with Jesus and other religious figures.

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Prince Philip's mom was committed to an asylum and became a nun - Years later, she hid a Jewish family on the top floor of her house, only yards from Gestapo headquarters. In her later life, she founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns.

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Prince Philip's mom was committed to an asylum and became a nun - After her death, she was interred on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and honored as Righteous Among the Nations for having hidden persecuted Jews in her house in Athens.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - In the early 1950s, it was revealed that the Queen's sister was very close to the married Royal Air Force Officer Captain Peter Townsend.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - When rumors became too much to ignore, Townsend divorced his wife and immediately proposed to Princess Margaret.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - Townsend's divorced status made it impossible for Princess Margaret to marry him, as both the Church of England and Parliament were firmly against the match.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - As Margaret was under the age of 25, the Queen had to approve of her sister's marriage to a divorced man. As head of the Church of England, she was unwilling to do so.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - Even after she was 25, the Princess would be stripped of all her royal privileges and her income. Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend eventually called off their engagement and she married the more respectable Antony Armstrong-Jones.

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The Queen stopped her own sister's marriage - The couple had two children but very publicly separated in 1976. Buckingham Palace stated "HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and the Earl of Snowdon have mutually agreed to live apart. The Princess will carry out her public duties and functions unaccompanied by Lord Snowdon. There are no plans for divorce proceedings.” They divorced in 1978.

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Princess Margaret had many affairs - But the Princess' indiscretions had started years earlier.

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Princess Margaret had many affairs - In 1973, she reportedly started an affair with a gardener 17 years her junior.

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Princess Margaret had many affairs - In 1976, a picture of the Princess with her lover, Roddy Llewellyn, appeared on the front page of the News of the World.

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Princess Margaret had many affairs - It later emerged that Princess Margaret reportedly had her first extramarital affair in 1966, with her daughter's godfather, Anthony Barton.

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Princess Margaret had many affairs - Intimate letters also indicate that she had a liaison with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home.

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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were cousins - It's true. The Queen and her husband were first cousins and their family encouraged the pairing.

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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were cousins - They had nine children together. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are third cousins, which is still a little close for comfort.

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Princess Anne's husband had a love child - In 1973, Princess Anne married Lieutenant Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey.

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Princess Anne's husband had a love child - They separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992, but before then scandal rocked their marriage.

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Princess Anne's husband had a love child - Phillips had an affair with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin. Their daughter was born in 1985.

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Princesss Anne's husband had a love child - Phillips reportedly asked Tonkin to get an abortion, but after she refused he paid her just £6,000 (about US$7,500) a year through an associate for what his accounts described as "equestrian consultancy."

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Princess Anne's husband had a love child -

When the payments reportedly became erratic, Tonkin went public about the details.

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The dark secrets of the British royal family

Prince Andrew, Duke of York, stripped of honorary status by the city of York

29/04/22 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Scandal

Prince Andrew's status as a royal has been reduced bit by bit over the last few years as terrible revelations about his association with convicted sex offender and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein came to light. One of Epstein's most prominent accusers claimed that Prince Andrew had abused her too, and as soon as news broke that he was to be embroiled in a lawsuit she brought against him, an official statement was issued from the House of Windsor. The Queen was stripping Andrew of his honorary military roles and royal patronages that associate him with charities and organizations all over the nation. He is also no longer allowed to use the title "His Royal Highness."

Another blow to Prince Andrew's reputation came on April 27 when the council of York unanimously voted to remove his "freedom of the city." Andrew was named Duke of York by the Queen in 1987, and the city granted him the ceremonial honor of becoming a "freemen" of York that same year. The distinction has existed since medieval times and this is the first time the city has ever chosen to take it back from a recipient. Other honorees include Princess Anne and Dame Judi Dench.

To learn more about Prince Andrew's fall from grace and uncover the other dark secrets of the British royals, click through the gallery.