Star Metro - UK's disgraced Prince Andrew marks his 65th birthday

The disgraced royal has become a source of embarrassment for his brother King Charles III following a devastating 2019 TV interview in which Andrew defended his friendship with billionaire US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

He was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and shuffled off into retirement after being sued by Virginia Giuffre, an American woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.

The prince, who denied the allegations, avoided trial by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement.

He now makes increasingly rare appearances and his popularity rating has plummeted to an all-time low. It represents an ignominious fall for Andrew, thought to have been Queen Elizabeth II's favourite child.

Once nicknamed "Randy Andy" and celebrated briefly for his role in the Falklands War, Andrew travelled the world at great expense as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade from 2001-2011.

Today, he spends much of his time at home -- but controversy is never far away.

- 'Unusual trust' -

In December, a court ruling revealed that a suspected Chinese spy enjoyed an "unusual degree of trust" from the prince, who had invited him to his 60th birthday party.

The authorities found a document on Yang Tengbo's phone outlining "main talking points" for a call with Andrew, stressing the prince was "in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything".

Tengbo denied wrongdoing but the fresh scandal made headlines at home and once more rocked the royals. Andrew was notably absent from the family Christmas last year.

New revelations have also exposed links with Russian-born businessman Oleg Firer, who is reportedly seeking to raise billions in the Middle East and China using any access provided by the prince, according to the Daily Mail.

"We simply don't know how much money (Andrew) has got. What we do know is, very clearly, he's trying to hedge back into the business world," royals expert Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.

After all, Andrew has to maintain his lifestyle at the princely 30-room Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle.

He no longer receives the yearly £250,000 ($315,000) awarded to active members of the royal family, and King Charles -- who reportedly wants Andrew to leave Royal Lodge -- has stopped paying his brother an annual £1 million allowance.

Andrew's private security alone -- no longer funded by the king -- is estimated to cost £3 million per year.

- 'Walking disaster' -

And the trail of negative publicity generated by the duke shows no sign of stopping.

In 2014, the prince set up a philanthropic network called Pitch@Palace, adding a commercial branch with an international dimension that was frozen after the Epstein scandal.

But in May 2024, Yang the suspected spy mentioned a controversial plan to "resurrect the Pitch program, under the new brand and name, Innovate Global," according to Sky News.

The Epstein scandal could also come back to haunt the prince, as US President Donald Trump has called for a list of the financier's clients to be made public.

The prince's infamy has proven far-reaching -- on the South Atlantic island of St Helena, The Prince Andrew School has recently announced it will change its name.

"Anything he attends, other than funerals, is going to cause a huge problem," said Fitzwilliams.

"He is just a walking disaster."

A.Gagnon--SMC