Prince William Is Reportedly Concerned About How Prince Andrew's Ongoing Scandal Will Affect the Queen

• As the fallout from accusations of sexual abuse against Prince Andrew (opens in new tab) continues, senior royals are reportedly discussing the Duke of York's future in the royal family.
• A source told the Mirror this week that Prince Charles (opens in new tab) and Prince William "are united; there will never be a return to public life for Andrew."
• William is also reportedly one of several senior royals who is concerned about the Queen and how the ongoing scandal will affect her.

Prince Andrew's ongoing sexual abuse scandal (opens in new tab) is, understandably, wearing on the royal family. Prince William (opens in new tab) is reportedly among the senior royals who are especially worried about how the continuing scandal will affect Queen Elizabeth II (opens in new tab).

The 95-year-old monarch is at her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland right now and is being joined by several members of the royal family. The convergence isn't specifically because of the Duke of York's (opens in new tab) latest legal troubles, but the timing is convenient—the Queen traditionally spends August at the estate and invites members of the royal family to join her.

As they congregate around the Queen during this time, William and his father, Prince Charles (opens in new tab), are reportedly in complete agreement about how to handle the situation.

"First and foremost, Charles and William are united; there will never be a return to public life for Andrew," a royal source told the Mirror (opens in new tab). The source added that Will and Charles, "along with members [of the royal family], are undoubtedly increasingly concerned about the effect all of this turmoil could have on the Queen."

The latest round of reports from royal insiders come as Andrew is facing renewed scrutiny about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein (opens in new tab). Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed suit in New York Monday accusing the 61-year-old royal of having forced her to participate in non-consensual sex multiple times before she was 18 years old.

Reports of the royal family's response to the news started coming out earlier this week, with Times of London (opens in new tab) reporting Thursday that a source close to Charles said the fallout from the case has senior royals worried about "unwelcome reputational damage to the institution" of the monarchy.