Britain's Prince Andrew is stripped of his royal patronages and military titles

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Britain's Prince Andrew is stripped of his royal patronages and military titles

Transcript¹

Prince Andrew has given up his military's titles and royal sponsorships, and will defend himself as a private citizen in a civil suit in New York accusing him of sex abuse.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Britain's royal family is once again in damage control. Buckingham Palace announced yesterday that Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, will defend himself as a private citizen against sexual assault allegations in a possible civil trial. Andrew has returned his military titles and royal charities to the queen. Later this year, he could face allegations in a Manhattan courtroom that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl who was trafficked by the prince's friend, the late convicted sex offender² Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has denied all wrongdoing. We've got NPR's Frank Langfitt with us from London. Hi, Frank.

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE³: Hey. Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: Why is the royal family making these moves now?

LANGFITT: Well, I think their hand was pretty much forced. On Wednesday, the judge in New York rejected Andrew's motion to dismiss this lawsuit⁴. So as you were saying, this could go to a civil trial. And they need to distance themselves as quickly as possible from the prince. They were also under pressure. There was this letter that came in before the announcement. More than 150 veterans of British Armed Services wrote an open letter to the queen. And I want to read a little bit of this to you. They say, we are particularly upset and angry that Prince Andrew remains⁵ a member of the armed forces. Were this any other senior military officer, it is inconceivable that he'd still be in the post. And then they go on to say, basically, we understand this is your son. But, please, do not let this go on any longer.

MARTIN: Wow. It is not a done deal, though, that this case makes it to trial at all, right?

LANGFITT: No. And I think that there's a great interest, probably, in the prince and the royal family to settle this some way. The media attention, if this actually were to go to trial, would be enormous and damaging to the royal family, for sure. He may certainly try to settle. But the lawyer for the plaintiff, her name is Virginia Giuffre. But the lawyer says she probably will want more than money, and said probably something that vindicates⁶ her and other victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Today, Giuffre tweeted this. She said, my goal has always been to show that the rich and powerful are not above the law and must be held accountable.

MARTIN: This is obviously so complicated for the royal family, right? And the queen, this is her second son. She lost her husband last year. I mean, she's got a lot going on. What is the royal family's strategy going forward?

LANGFITT: I think their strategy is to try to make the public see the civil case as Andrew's problem and not theirs. And the timing⁷ of this is really important. This year, the queen is going to celebrate her platinum⁸ jubilee⁹. That's 70 years on the throne. That's longer than any British monarch¹⁰. We're talking Queen Victoria, George III, who, of course, was the king during the American Revolutionary War. There are all kinds of celebrations in the works. I'll give you an example, baking competition. People are going to try to create the best pudding that will be named after the queen. In June, there'll be a four-day bank holiday. And bluntly, they don't want Andrew's legal proceedings¹¹ clouding these celebrations.

MARTIN: But, I mean, as we know, the royal family has had a time of it recently.

LANGFITT: Oh, it's been a terrible few years. Yeah.

MARTIN: Yeah. I mean, their reputation just as a whole, the monarchy¹², has been tainted¹³.

LANGFITT: It has. But, you know, I don't think Andrew's going to sink the royal family at all. The queen remains very popular. Her ratings are 76% in terms of approval here. Prince Charles, who's next in line to the throne, though, he only polls around 45% percent. He's not that popular. So the queen is now 95. When she passes and Charles presumably takes over, it's going to be a challenge for him to modernize¹⁴ and keep the monarchy relevant to the people here.

MARTIN: NPR's Frank Langfitt in London. Thanks, Frank.

LANGFITT: Great to talk, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 vindicates   

n.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的名词复数 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的第三人称单数 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• The success of the operation completely vindicates my faith in the doctor. 手术的成功完全证明我对这大夫的信任是正确的。 来自辞典例句
• In one sense the verdict vindicates the Bush administration. 在某种意义上，有罪宣判证明了布什当局是正确的。 来自互联网

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

9 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

10 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

12 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

13 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。