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Prince Andrew’s involvement in a sensational sexual assault case has left the queen’s second — and, reportedly, favorite — son disgraced and stripped of his royal duties. But could he still be king someday?
The answer is, technically, yes — he is still a prince by birth. And now that Queen Elizabeth has died at age 96, the 62-year-old prince is actually closer to the throne than ever, jumping up a place to eighth in line.
This, of course, is still a pretty remote possibility. King Charles, Prince William and his three children, as well as Prince Harry and his two children would all need to predecease him.
In 2019, Andrew announced he would be stepping back from royal duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal — the two were good friends.
In January 2022, he faced further woes when a civil sex assault case was brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. He has consistently denied the allegations. A month later, he paid Giuffre a reported £12 million ($14.5 million) in an out-of-court settlement.
