Prince Andrew’s Court Case Made “Abolish the Monarchy” Trend on Twitter

The allegations of sexual impropriety brought against Prince Andrew are deeply troubling, and now they’re causing some Britons to call for scrapping the monarchy altogether. After more news about the lawsuit against the Duke of Yorke and his response to claims made by his accuser were made public, the hashtag #abolishthemonarchy trended on Twitter in England, according to Express UK.

Back in 2019, Virginia Giuffre filed a suit against the Duke of Yorke for sexual abuse during an alleged incident that occurred in 2001 when she was underage, and which stemmed from Andrew’s reported associations with Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew denies the allegations. And though the Palace has publicly distanced itself from him and he has been permanently removed from royal duties, the Queen is reportedly helping him fund his legal battles from her private accounts.

This week, lawyers representing Prince Andrew in the U.S. filed to have the lawsuit dismissed before Prince Andrew is forced to give testimony under oath. A 38-page memo from his legal team that went public called Giuffre’s claims “frivolous” and “lurid,” and accused her of trying to “seek a payday at [Andrew’s] expense.” The document also claims that Giuffre signed an agreement with Epstein in 2009 that exempted Prince Andrew from being sued by her, as well.

In response, Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies, slammed the Duke’s response for trying to bring in facts that were in dispute in the motion to dismiss, instead of at trial where they can be actually proven or disproven. “Andrew’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit fails to confront the serious allegations,” Boies wrote.

The furor over the new documents erupted on Twitter with calls to end the monarchy:

Whether or not you agree that the monarchy should still exist in 2021, it’s telling that these allegations against Prince Andrew are causing damage to the reputation of the entire royal family. Whether their attempts to distance themselves from him will be enough to stop the ire remains to be seen.