Analysis: The Queen hasn't escaped the Andrew scandal

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On Wednesday, the Sun newspaper splashed the headline: “His Final Disgrace,” the Daily Mail called it the “Duke’s Final ‘£10 million’ Humiliation” and The Daily Star declared him a “Royal wrong ‘un.”

That’s because the UK’s media no longer had to wait for a verdict before passing their own judgment on the Duke of York’s character. Throughout the case, Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but the move has left some wondering why he would settle if he has no memory of ever meeting his accuser Virginia Giuffre — as he claims. And he previously vowed to clear his name at trial.

Neither Andrew nor Giuffre would comment beyond the settlement statement filed with the court, but royal commentators conclude that the prince had to stop the drip-drip of salacious revelations in the Queen’s platinum jubilee year, which is meant to be about celebrating — not berating — the monarchy.

The other reason for the relentless headlines lies in the fact that Buckingham Palace isn’t dousing the firestorm either, instead redirecting queries to the duke and his legal team. The Queen had already showed how far she was willing to go to distance the institution from her son by stripping him of his remaining military titles and roles last month.

With the case over, the lingering queries surround how Andrew is funding the deal, which British media estimates is upwards of £10 million ($13.6 million). More specifically, the bones of contention are over whether the Queen helped foot the bill, and if she did, was public money involved?

A flurry of politicians, academics and commentators are demanding transparency over the financial sources behind the settlement.

It’s inconceivable that the Queen would use the Sovereign Grant — which comes from the taxpayer — to pay her son’s legal fees. The palace would need to declare it and it would certainly be viewed as a misuse of public money. The institution would be well aware of this and, as such, would not entertain the idea. The problem is…

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Source : cnn