PIERS Morgan has warned Prince Andrew “far worse is to come” after the “utter humiliation” of the Queen stripping him of his titles.
The firebrand broadcaster warned the Duke against continuing to “stonewall his way out of accountability” amid growing anger at the Virginia Giuffre sex-assault lawsuit.
Andrew was tonight stripped of his royal titles and all military honours after a face-to-face showdown with the Queen.
The move comes after Andrew’s lawyers failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him that accuses him of sexually abusing Ms Giuffre when she was 17— which he vehemently denies.
In a stark tweet, Piers said: “Utter humiliation for Andrew but he only has himself to blame — and far worse is to come if he continues to try to stonewall his way out of any accountability re the serious allegations against him and his relationship with Epstein/Maxwell.”
It is not the first time that the ex-GMB host and Sun columnist has taken a swipe at the royal, mocking Andrew after he will be forced to fight off a sexual assault lawsuit – joking that he has “probably discovered he can sweat”.
In another swipe, Piers said: “Will vile sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell now sing like a canary to avoid spending the rest of her life in prison?” he wondered.
“If she does, there could be a lot of rich, powerful & famous people sweating tonight… and not sweating.”
A source told the Sun Online tonight that the Duke has vowed to defend himself against the allegation.
They said: “Given the robustness with which Judge Kaplan greeted our arguments, we are unsurprised by the ruling.
“However, it was not a judgement on the merits of Ms Giuffre’s allegations.
“This is a marathon not a sprint and the Duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.”
Andrew had been expected to agree to an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre.
It was understood that he was set to pay £10million from the sale of his Swiss chalet to make this possible.
Legal experts say it is his “least worst option” after a US judge ruled sex abuse claims should be heard in court.
A full civil trial with a jury could see Andrew cross-examined about his sex life, links to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and asked exactly what he did to his accuser.
The Duke of York could be asked about the most intimate parts of his body, a lawyer for Epstein’s victims has claimed.
Sworn statements from ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are a possibility.
But the new statement from our source suggests that at least for the time being the Duke is going to fight it and not settle yet.
Announcing the stripping of Andrew’s title, Buckingham Palace said in a statement this evening: “With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
According to a source, the decision was “widely discussed amongst the royal family” and all of his titles have been returned with immediate effect.
In time they will be redistributed to other family members, according to Royal source.
The Duke has always strenuously denied all allegations made against him, and denied ever meeting his accuse in a car crash interview with the BBC.
During the interview, he also bizarrely claimed that he was medically unable to sweat and that he was at Pizza Express at the time of her claims.
The Duke told Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis being “shot at” during his time serving as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War caused him to develop a medical condition, anhidrosis.
He claims the “peculiar medical condition” means he couldn’t sweat properly at the time, and could not have “sweated profusely”, as Ms Giuffre claims.
