Queen 'alone' as she 'doesn't have anyone to lean on' amid Prince Andrew scandal

Prince Andrew has announced that he is to step back from royal duties for the “foreseeable future”. This comes amidst backlash from his BBC Newsnight interview where he broke his silence

over his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the sexual assault allegations against him. The Queen's son denied that he had any sexual contact with an American woman

named Virginia Roberts, who claims she was ordered to have sex with him aged 17.

In a statement, the Duke of York said: “It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major

disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support.”

Former Buckingham Palace Press Secretary, Dickie Arbiter spoke to Sky News about the shocking turn of events and the “tremendous blow” to the Queen.

Mr Arbiter said: “It would be a tremendous blow to Her Majesty.

“There were a lot of reports recently over the past few weeks of the Queen going to church with Andrew, and they were all full of smiles.”

READ MORE: Prince Andrew: Virginia Roberts photo ‘very difficult to prove’

He continued: “She might be Queen, she might be the head of state, but she’s also a mother.

“Support him in terms of public appearance, probably not support what he has done.

“It would have been very difficult for her to accept what he’s done, friends that he’s kept and the allegations that have come out.”

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The former Press Secretary added: “She doesn’t need this at 93, and unfortunately she doesn’t have the same support today from the Duke of Edinburgh as she had years ago because he’s sort of

retired from public life, he’s in the background, he spends most of his time at Sandringham.

“She hasn’t got that man side-by-side to sort of bounce off her problems so she’s been tackling this alone.

“Plus the fact that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are in New Zealand. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t got anybody close by that she can actually talk to.”

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Buckingham Palace after Andrew's announcement  [VIDEO]

Prince Andrew was granted permission to withdraw from public duties by the Queen.

He said he deeply sympathised with Mr Epstein's victims and everyone who "wants some form of closure".

Mr Arbiter agreed that it was for the best: “The interview backfired in the most spectacular way but I’m not surprised that he stepped back.

“I was saying as such on Monday and tweeting as such on Sunday that it was inevitable. It couldn’t go on like this.

“The press has been vociferous in its attack, in its reporting and he now needed to step back and take stock of where his future lies.”

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