Prince Andrew's 'York Brand' is 'Absolutely Toxic' As He Attempts Comeback

Prince Andrew's "York Brand" has been called "absolutely toxic" with charitable organizations not wanting to be associated with him as he attempts a comeback, a royal commentator has told Newsweek.

Richard Fitzwilliams said that Andrew has "no role in the future but he won't accept that," leaving the royals with little choice but to find him a position that keeps him "out of the public eye as much as possible."

Fitzwilliams' comments come as Andrew withdraws from a planned public appearance at the annual Garter Day service at Windsor Castle.

Despite having his military and charitable patronages removed following a sexual assault lawsuit lodged against him by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, Andrew remains a Knight of the Garter, as this is an honor in the gift of the Queen herself.

Andrew settled the lawsuit against him for an estimated $10 million while denying any allegation of wrongdoing.

"So far as Andrew is concerned it really is quite extraordinary. It doesn't seem that any message gets through to him," Fitzwilliams told Newsweek.

"If he were to look at the polls, he has no public support at all. If he also was to just reflect, when he appears it's embarrassing for the monarchy."

"He would point out that he hasn't been found guilty of anything but it is the court of public opinion and there's also simply what you can't escape from, that photograph has never been explained, of him with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell," he continued.

"It is quite extraordinary how after everything that has happened, including the car crash interview with Emily Maitlis for Newsnight, that he still believes there is a public role for him."

Reports that Andrew is seeking to make a public comeback after settling the lawsuit against him in February began circulating when he appeared publicly for the first time since then on the arm of the Queen at a memorial service for Prince Philip in March.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday that Andrew has been lobbying the Queen to reinstate the royal patronages that were removed earlier this year including the colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards as well as reinstating his HRH (His Royal Highness) title, which it was announced in February he would no longer use.

This news comes after a number of false starts at a public comeback. In April the prince's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson released a post on Instagram written by Andrew of his memories of the Falklands War. The post was signed "The Duke of York" and following intense social media criticism the post was taken offline some hours later.

Andrew's planned attendance alongside other royals for the celebrations of the queen's platinum jubilee were undone when he tested positive for COVID.

"Essentially, he hasn't got a future in public life," Fitzwilliams said.

"The York brand is absolutely toxic so it makes it very difficult... If he would only retire and go quietly, then something would be found for him."

For Fitzwilliams, part of what is holding Andrew back from any kind of public rehabilitation is the fact that the issues surrounding the Giuffre case are far from over:

"To my knowledge Virginia Giuffre did not sign a non-disclosure agreement so there could be a book still coming out later, which could be very embarrassing for [Andrew] and for the royal family," he said.

Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Maxwell, Epstein and the Palace, agrees.

"If he really wanted to clear his name he had the opportunity to do that and appear in court in the United States and he has chosen not to do that. He has just paid it off with £12 million [$14.6 million] of his mother's money," Cawthorne told Newsweek.

"It's all going to come up again later this month. There's the sentencing hearing for Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia said that she was going to make a victim impact statement at the hearing. So, this is not going to go away...The substance of the matter has never been addressed."

It has been reported that the reason for Andrew's withdrawal from the public aspects of Monday's Garter Day ceremony is that Prince Charles and Prince William warned against it.

Though a source close to Andrew told Newsweek that the move "was a personal decision by the duke," both Fitzwilliams and Cawthorne claim there is no love lost between Charles and Andrew.

"There hasn't been any love lost between the two of them since the problems with Diana when Prince Charles was so unpopular back then and Andrew was kind of plotting a palace coup to take over as regent until William was old enough to take the throne," Cawthorne claims.

But for Fitzwilliams the answer may lie in the fact that both Charles and William are keenly aware of public perception and being seen to act in accordance with this.

"Charles and William are fiercely aware of the public sentiment," he said, and " know perfectly well that [Andrew] is absolutely hopeless and he does not have a future with a public role."

So, what can the royals do with Andrew? Cawthorne suggests that he should "gracefully go into exile somewhere that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the United States."

Fitzwilliams on the other hand believes the future lies with the prince undertaking a non-public facing role to keep him occupied.

"People don't want any contact with him, no organization wants to work with him, the palace don't speak for him anymore, he has no place in future royal life," he said, adding, "As a result it's time that a job is found for him out of the public eye as much as possible. You can't expect him to do absolutely nothing"

As to what role that could be he suggests: "a job with the royal estates, something reasonably quiet and that didn't involve public appearances. The Duke of Edinburgh used to do that as Ranger of the Great Park in Windsor. That sort of thing."