MORE HEARTBREAK FOR THE QUEEN

Whatever the outcome of Prince Andrew’s ugly legal battle in America, his life as a working member of the Royal Family, in my opinion, is over.

- Duncan Larcombe

If he loses the civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, he will face astronomical costs and would almost certainly become the first royal in history to be stripped of the title Duke of York.

Goodness knows what potential criminal investigations could follow, and surely history will only ever remember the former Falklands War hero as the prince who disgraced his mother.

The allegations he must fight are some of the most serious ever levelled at a senior member of the Royal Family and, for almost a decade, Andrew has vehemently denied them. But the problem for the Queen’s second son is that it no longer matters what a jury in New York may, or may not, think of the evidence.

Even if he is exonerated by the court, there will be many who will always believe Ms Giuffre’s version of events.