Prince Charles, William fear Prince Andrew in for 'worse' outcome with court trial

Prince Charles and Prince William are said to be worried that Prince Andrew will only humiliate himself further with a court trial on his sex abuse case. Instead, they want him to settle the suit with the plaintiff, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, out of court.

The Duke of York is accused of "rape in the first degree" in a New York court. He has since denied the allegations and recently expressed his intent to face his accuser in court. He has asked for a jury to hear his sworn statement and his lawyers hope the judge will permit him to appear in court via video link from his Windsor home. His deposition will reportedly likely take seven hours.

His decision has reportedly "deeply shocked" the British royals, especially the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge. They are said to be leading efforts to convince the 61-year old to stop the court hearing. They fear that Prince Andrew will only further humiliate himself if things do not go in his favour, akin to what happened following his Newsnight interview in 2019 when he denied ever knowing Giuffre.

"After the car crash of Newsnight no-one thinks a seven-hour deposition is a good idea. If he were to appear in court it could be many times worse and senior royals were deeply shocked when they heard that he was demanding a jury trial," a royal source told The Sun.

The family also worries about what the court decision will do for the monarchy and for Queen Elizabeth II. They do not want the case to overshadow Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.

"The best outcome for everyone is that this is settled as soon as possible. There are deep, deep worries that this will get worse and worse for the family and will overshadow Platinum Jubilee celebrations," the insider added.

Fortunately, Prince Andrew's testimony will reportedly not air until after the celebrations. The duke has been told to file his deposition by July 14 and it will not be released until the court hearing. Judge Lewis Kaplan has yet to announce the trial date.