Queen’s ‘maternal support’ helping Andrew face ‘enormous pressures’, says expert

The Queen is giving Prince Andrew support and comfort as he battens down the hatches following a recent lawsuit filed against him, according to a leading royal expert.

Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson joined the monarch at Balmoral this week following the news that Victoria Giuffre had launched a civil suit over an alleged sexual assault on the other side of the Atlantic.

Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegation, and a spokesman for the duke said there was “no comment” when she was asked to respond to Ms Giuffre’s most recent legal action.

It has been claimed that the Duke of York is the monarch’s favourite son, and royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: “When he was born, she could spend more time with him and when he is again facing enormous pressures, she is able to offer maternal support.”

The pair are “particularly close”, he toldExpress.co.uk.

Andrew and Fergie’s family are tight-knit, despite their divorce, and their daughters Princess Beatrice, 33, and Princess Eugenie, 31, are thought to be with them in Scotland.

Richard said: “The Queen is now enjoying her annual break at Balmoral as restrictions have been lifted and as life in parts of the nation very gradually begins to return to something resembling normality.

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“She will doubtless reflect on her very substantial contribution as a symbol of national unity in her broadcasts last year.

“She has always championed the family unit and is extremely fond of her granddaughters Beatrice and Eugenie.”

The commentator added: “She will have derived much pleasure from their marriages and the birth of Eugenie’s son August earlier in the year.

“Andrew and Sarah, though divorced, remain very close, living together at Royal Lodge in Windsor, and have been good parents.”

Prince Andrew withdrew from public life in 2019 after a widely-panned TV interview that he’d hoped would head off the sexual assault allegations backfired, leaving more questions than answers. His relationship with dead billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has remained in the spotlight ever since, with this week’s lawsuit ratcheting up the pressure on the duke.

It is believed that Fergie had a difficult relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh, who reportedly banned her from Balmoral, but after Philip’s death earlier this year it seems she received an invitation to Scotland from the Queen.

Richard said: “On this occasion, the Yorks will doubtless find their visit is an opportunity to relax during a very difficult period for them, which is also problematic for the monarchy.”

The Queen is expected to remain in Scotland until autumn, and she will host various members of the Royal Family while she is there.

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