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Prince Andrew has no future in public life as a royal, a commentator has claimed. The Duke of York was forced to step back in the wake of Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s civil court case in the US over sexual assault allegations. Andrew has repeatedly and strenuously denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations.

The Duke is now eyeing a return to frontline royal duties and is reportedly exploring his legal options in a possible bid to see the settlement overturned, according to reports.

But royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed the Duke’s age will count against him and the comeback he reportedly seeks.

He said: “At 62, he has no royal future and his popularity is down to single digits. Ghislaine Maxwell won’t help him by supportive statements from prison.

“The much publicised recent stunt featuring two figures in a bath, which was supposedly designed to help his reputation, was simply farcical.”

Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20 year long prison sentence in the US after she was found guilty of recruting teenage girls for the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

In an interview from her Florida prison, she told TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle Live an image of herself, Prince Andrew and Virginia Giufree was faked.

Two acquaintances of Maxwell’s brother, Ian Maxwell, appeared in an image showing a bath in her London home.

The pair were wearing masks of Andrew and Ms Giuffre in a bid to prove the pair could not allegedly have had sex in the tub because of its size.

Recent polling shows only seven percent of 1,691 adults surveyed by YouGov have a positive view of Prince Andrew.

Nineteen percent reported having a fairly negative view while 67 percent said they viewed him very negatively, according to the December poll.

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Andrew and Ms Giuffre settled out of court in February last year with a judge in Manhattan dismissing the case. The Duke is believed to have paid his former accuser millions in the settlement as well as donating to her charity, though doing so was not an admission of wrongdoing on the prince’s part. Andrew repeatedly and strenuously denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations.

The Duke has reportedly instructed his legal team to consider whether the deal can now be overturned.

But Mr Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: “If he were to begin legal action against Virginia Roberts Giuffre, as has been rumoured, there would obviously be considerable publicity involved. Since he has not been found guilty of anything he sees no reason to do penance.

“However there is no sign of any humility, of helping the FBI which he promised to do or of doing some charitable work as the Queen reportedly suggested he do.”

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He added: “The Newsnight interview is still fresh in the national memory and the photograph of him with Giuffre has not been proved a fake. In his handling of the allegations against him, he continues to be his own worst enemy.”

During the disastrous Newsnight interview, which won the Scoop of the Year at the 2020 Royal Television Society Awards, the Duke denied claims he had sex with Ms Giuffre.

She said the prince sweated heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp in one alleged encounter.

However, Andrew told then Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis he had a medical condition at the time – caused by his service in the Falklands War – which meant he did not sweat, and that he had no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre.

He said he spent the day at Pizza Express in Woking for a party with one of his daughters.

Andrew’s Newsnight interview is to be made into a new Netflix film starring Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell.

The streaming service said the film will give viewers the “inside track” on how Andrew came to be grilled by Maitlis over his relationship with late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in November 2019.

Sex Education star Anderson, 54, who won a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Television Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in Netflix series The Crown, will play Maitlis.

Andrew will be played by Sewell, 55, who recently starred in The Man In The High Castle and The Pale Horse.

The film is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews From Prince Andrew To Steven Seagal.

Netflix said it will look at “navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal – to the jaw-dropping interview itself”.

The film will also spotlight “the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings”.

McAlister spent a year securing the sit-down, on-camera meeting with Andrew. She left the BBC in July 2021.

She said: “It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.”

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