Britain's problem Prince Andrew will attend King Charles coronation
As often is the case for the House of Windsor, its greatest problems come from within. The issue of how to treat the younger brother of King Charles III, Prince Andrew, is still unresolved after he settled a US lawsuit in which a woman accused him of sexual assault.
After waiting longer than any British heir to become monarch, 74-year-old King Charles has quietly settled into his new role with little of the drama some commentators had expected, but with family divisions and some fundamental issues still looming.
Andrew is expected to attend the King's coronation on Saturday, a ceremony which will make Charles the oldest sovereign to take the throne in a lineage that dates back 1,000 years when he succeeded his hugely popular mother Queen Elizabeth after her death last September. She had reigned for 70 years.
Amid the displays of emotion and deference shown after her death, Andrew's presence added a discordant note to the solemn rituals leading up to her funeral.
Reputedly the queen's favourite son, Andrew was stripped of most of his titles and removed from royal duties due to a scandal over his friendship with US financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and a related sex assault allegation.
Andrew has not been charged with any criminal offence and has always denied any wrongdoing.
A photograph circulated picturing him with his arm around a young woman named Virginia Roberts - who accused Epstein of grooming her as a "sex slave". Also in the picture is socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who in June last year was sentenced by a US court to 20 years imprisonment for child sex trafficking.
Roberts, now called Virginia Giuffre, said as a teenager she had been forced to have sex with Andrew in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island between 1999 and 2002.
Giuffre eventually sued Andrew alleging he sexually assaulted her when she was aged 17. In March this year, he settled the suit without admitting any liability. The settlement included an undisclosed payment.
Andrew will be accompanied by his daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie at the coronation.
Some British newspapers have reported that Andrew may use the royal event to rehabilitate his tarnished image.
Last month his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York with whom he remains close, said in a TV interview Andrew was a good man who should be allowed to rebuild his life.
But for Charles, the most prominent issue remains the ongoing conflict with his younger son Prince Harry.
Reuters
