Military veterans call on the Queen to strip Prince Andrew of all ranks and titles

More than 150 Royal Navy, RAF and Army veterans have written to the Queen, calling on her to strip the Duke of York of all his ranks and titles within the British armed forces.

In their open letter, the former soldiers, sailors and airmen write: “Regardless of the result of Virginia Giuffre’s civil case against Prince Andrew, his position in Britain’s armed forces is now untenable.

“Were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post.”

Organiser Graham Smith added: “There is no excuse for allowing Andrew to continue to enjoy the status and prestige of these positions. The Queen needs to act now and strip him of all military ranks and titles.”

Picture reportedly showing Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts, aged 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell at Maxwell's townhouse in London, Britain on March 13 2001.

“Were this any other senior military officer it is inconceivable that he would still be in post.

“Officers of the British armed forces must adhere to the very highest standards of probity, honesty and honourable conduct.

“These are standards which Prince Andrew has fallen well short of.

“It is hard not to see, when senior officers are reportedly describing him as ‘toxic’, that he has brought the services he is associated with into disrepute.

Facing court: The Duke of York

“We are therefore asking that you take immediate steps to strip Prince Andrew of all his military ranks and titles and, if necessary, that he be dishonourably discharged.”

Prince Andrew loses bid to dismiss Virginia Giuffre civil sex case

Meanwhile, Ms Giuffre wants to be “vindicated” by the legal process and is not motivated by reaching a “purely financial settlement”, her lawyer has said.

One of the few options open to Andrew is to try and reach an out-of-court settlement after a US judge ruled her allegation of sexual assault against him can be heard at a civil trial.

But the suggestion by David Boies, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, that money alone would not satisfy his client might indicate she may want her day in court or some admission from the duke or acknowledgement of her position.

The lawyer declined to rule out the prospect of his client agreeing a settlement but said there was “no suggestion of settlement discussions at this point”.

Legal experts have described Andrew reaching an out of court agreement, rumoured to be in the millions of pounds, as his best worst case option – as it avoids him being cross-examined in court.

The civil sex case also threatens to set off a “constitutional crisis” which will engulf the royal family, media lawyer Mark Stephens has said.

Judge Lewis A Kaplan dismissed a motion by the duke’s lawyers to have the civil case thrown out after they argued Ms Giuffre had waived her right to pursue the duke by signing a confidential settlement with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

READ MORE: Prince Andrew asked to prove inability to sweat in civil case

Ms Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. She is seeking unspecified damages, but there is speculation the sum could be in the millions of dollars.

She claims she was trafficked by the duke’s friend financier Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was aged 17 and a minor under US law.

The duke has vehemently denied the allegations and his legal team have argued from the first hearing into the lawsuit the case was “baseless”.

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