Prince Andrew 'expects to be rehabilitated' says Tina Brown

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Andrew in March agreed to pay a multimillion-pound sum with no admission of liability to bring the civil sexual assault case brought by his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, to a close. The settlement, while preventing a courtroom battle in New York, did not save the prince’s reputation – but the Monarch seems determined to “rehabilitate her son’s image”, royal writer Daniela Elser said.

Following news the Duke of York will attend Garter Day alongside the Queen and other senior members of the Firm as well as be listed in the next day’s Court Circular, Ms Elser scrutinised Her Majesty’s efforts to “resurrect Prince Andrew’s reputation”, calling them “extraordinary”.

She said: “While the line the Palace has been seemingly trying to spin is that Andrew will only be taking part in the Garter ceremony in ‘a private capacity as a Royal Knight’ that is nothing short of risible.

“Garter Day is the epitome of monarchical splendour and pomp and trying to sell his inclusion as ‘private’ would be like trying to argue that Buckingham Palace is little more than a fixer-upper.”

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According to Ms Elser, “there is no single person who has done more to mortally wound the monarchy in the last century than Andrew”.

Andrew, 62, was stripped of his military titles in January over the sexual assault legal battle over accusations by Ms Giuffre, 38.

Although the parties settled the case, the agreement is not an admission of guilt from Andrew and he has always strenuously denied the allegations against him.

As part of the settlement, he vowed to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with Epstein by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”.

Despite official closure of the affair, it was expected the Duke would be virtually removed from royal life.

Yet, the father-of-two has appeared at more public engagements than it was anticipated at the height of the scandal.

The Queen, as sovereign of the order, appoints Knights of the Garter without consulting ministers. Andrew’s appointment was therefore considered a private one.

A palace source told the Telegraph the Duke’s inclusion in the Court Circular would be “standard practice”.

But Ms Elser views the Queen’s bid to “buoy her sad-sack son” as a sign “she is totally failing in her duty”.

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The royal writer expressed further irritation at the Queen’s decision not to appoint a new Colonel of the Grenadier Guards “after Andrew was forced to give up the plum position as part of his long-overdue defrocking earlier this year”.

She wrote in news.com.au: “The reason for Her Majesty’s demurring? Her son’s fragile ego.”

There had been speculation the role would be handed to Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. However, the position is reportedly being left vacant “to spare the Duke of York’s embarrassment”.

After rumours a new royal colonel would be appointed before June’s Trooping the Colour, the Times’ royal editor Roya Nikkhah reported “the Queen is delaying the appointment to avoid ‘a dagger to the heart’ for her second son”.

An outraged Ms Elser asked: “Is Her Majesty really this breathtakingly out-of-touch? Could she really be so indifferent to public feeling and the prevailing cultural winds?”

She added: “Right now, the house of Windsor and the Queen should be doing everything in their power to prepare the monarchy with the hope it can ride out the turbulent seas ahead.

“Instead? A man accused [and who has settled a claim] of sexual assault is being allowed to have a jolly day out!”

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