Queen to face ‘major disappointment’ for Platinum Jubilee as Prince Andrew sex assault lawsuit intensifies

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer are likely to be overshadowed by Prince Andrew's ongoing sexual abuse case, a royal expert has claimed. 

• The Queen's Platinum Jubilee will be impacted by Prince Andrew's sex abuse case, according to a royal expert. 
• Her Majesty will celebrate her 70th year on the throne with a four-day-long bank holiday weekend this June, but the festivities will likely be overshadowed by the prospect of a civil trial in autumn. 
• In other royal news, Prince George photo was a ‘wake up call’ for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—they wouldn't be the stars in the Royal Family.
  

The Queen will face 'major disappointment' this summer at her Platinum Jubilee as Prince Andrew's sexual assault case intensifies, according to a royal expert. 

Her Majesty will make history on 6 February as she becomes the first-ever British monarch to mark 70 years on the throne, but it's unlikely the milestone will be a purely joyous occasion. 

The celebrations, most of which will take place over a four-day long bank holiday weekend in June, are expected to be overshadowed by the grave allegations made against her second youngest child, the Duke of York. 

Prince Andrew has been accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor in 2001—an allegation the 61-year-old vehemently denies. The Duke's lawyers failed to persuade a New York district judge to dismiss the case earlier this week, which means he now faces a civil trial in the US. 

Giuffre has also claimed in court documents that Prince Andrew's former friend, the late Jeffrey Epstein, subject her to sex trafficking and abuse. 

The Royal Family has continued its promotion of the Queen's highly-anticipated bash despite the scandal, but there's no denying it'll affect the celebrations. With the trial expected to take place in autumn 2022, Her Majesty will likely be preoccupied with the case during the Jubilee. 

"There can be little doubt that the Giuffre-Andrew trial will cast a horrid shadow over his mother's 70th jubilee celebrations this year," royal expert Nigel Cawthorne said. 

The author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell, and the Palace also predicted that the stress will probably remind the Queen of 1992, which has notoriously gone down in history as Her Majesty's worst year. The 95-year-old monarch suffered a string of misfortunes over the cursed twelve months, including the Windsor Castle fire and the marital breakdowns of Charles, Anne, and Andrew. 

"It is bound to come as a major disappointment to the Queen and bring back memories of the annus horribilis, her 40th anniversary," he added. 

Prince Andrew is currently under pressure to settle with Giuffre out-of-court, but the accuser's lawyer has suggested she's unlikely to do so. 

"I think it’s very important to Virginia Giuffre that this matter be resolved in a way that vindicates her and vindicates the other victims," David Boies told BBC's Newsnight. "I don't think she has a firm view as to exactly what a solution should be. But I think what's going to be important is that this resolution vindicates her and vindicates the claim she has made."