Prince Philip told Andrew to ‘take his punishment’ at family crisis talks after car crash interview
PRINCE Philip told Andrew to "take his punishment" at family crisis talks, it has been claimed.
The Duke of York was forced to step down from royal duties after facing mounting pressure over his friendship with paedo Jeffrey Epstein.
And the 59-year-old had a "tense" meeting with his father after being slammed for not showing enough empathy for the victims of the rich financier.
A royal insider told : "It was a tense meeting and Philip told his son he had to take his punishment.
"There was no screaming or shouting but Philip told him in no uncertain terms that he had to step down for the sake of the monarchy."
They added: "Philip doesn’t like trial by the media but he is realistic enough to realise that Andrew’s actions were a danger to the very fabric of the royal family."
Prince Andrew then went on to speak with his brother Charles over the scandal once the future king had returned from his royal tour to New Zealand.
The next in line to the throne demanded Andrew give up all duties for “the foreseeable future” in the crunch summit.
Andrew was “read the riot act” by Charles shortly before a Panorama interview on Monday night with Virginia Giuffre — formerly known as Virginia Roberts — piled even more pressure on him.
Ms Giuffre, 35, claims she was among girls forced to operate as sex slaves for Epstein and his friends by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
She claims Prince Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 — allegations he denies.
But the increasing scrutiny Andrew is facing led to him being summoned to Sandringham to meet Charles and their dad Prince Philip over a light lunch.
'HE HAD LITTLE CHOICE'
A royal source said: “It was all very civilised and calm but Charles calmly read him the riot act and told him there was no way back for him in the near future.
“Andrew thought he was being treated harshly as nothing has yet been proved against him, but he accepted the decision. He really had little choice.”
It is believed Andrew then left and did not stay to watch Monday night’s Panorama, while Charles returned to London for the Nato reception at Buckingham Palace.
The Prince of Wales is said to be deeply worried about the impact the scandal is having on the monarchy, unless Andrew goes to the US to clear his name.
But a royal source said: “By doing that, Andrew would remove the mystery around the royal family. It’s a difficult predicament.
“Philip regrets Andrew doesn’t know how to lead a simple life. He thinks he’s been too extravagant.”
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The Duke of York has denied he was with Ms Giuffre at the club — insisting to Newsnight he was at Pizza Express in Woking instead.
Since the interview, Dai Davies, who was in charge of guarding the Royals worldwide in the 1990s, said the Duke of York and his staff must offer to be questioned by the FBI as part of their investigation into the disgraced billionaire paedophile.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking offences.
