‘I never liked him’: Denise Welch continues to lambast Prince Andrew for ‘disdainful’ comments about Princess Diana following her death – after he was stripped of military titles

• The Loose Women panellist reginited her ‘personal beef’ with the Prince by noting comments he made about Princess Diana at a party
• She said: ‘I was horrified by it because it wasn’t really far after’
• It comes after the Duke of York was stripped of his military titles by The Queen, as he faces a trial for sexual assault 
• The news is a further blow for Andrew as he considers whether to press ahead with the trial or settle with the accuser   

Denise Welch has once again reignited her feud with Prince Andrew, by referencing ‘disdainful’ comments he made about Princess Diana just weeks after her death.

In an outspoken rant on Friday’s Loose Women, the actress, 63, stated she was ‘horrified’ by the Duke Of York’s comments at an event she attended, after he was stripped of his military titles by The Queen.

The Duke Of York is set to face a trial in New York this autumn after he was accused of sexual assualt by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, with a curt Buckingham Palace statement saying he’d be defending the cast as a ‘private citizen.’ 

Outspoken: Denise Welch has once again reignited her feud with Prince Andrew, by referencing ‘disdainful’ comments he made about Princess Diana just weeks after her death

Speaking to her fellow panellists, Denise claimed that due to his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew is ‘guilty by association.’

She said: ‘I have personal beef with Andrew. He really upset me about the way he spoke about his late sister in law with such disdain in front of people who he didn’t know from a bar of soap. 

‘I was horrified by it because it wasn’t really long after [she died]. I had no skin in the game apart from someone who loved Diana from afar, but I was horrified.

Rage: The actress stated she was ‘horrified’ by the Duke Of York’s comments at an event she attended, after he was stripped of his military titles by The Queen (pictured in 2015)

Explanation: Welch said she became upset with comments Andrew made about Diana (pictured in 1995)

Views: Speaking to her fellow panellists, Denise claimed that due to his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew is ‘guilty by association’

‘I never liked him [as a person] and then we had another few occasions… So I think he is guilty by association. Once he went to see Jeffrey Epstein when he was a convicted paedophile, that was game over.’

In September 2019, Denise first claimed she heard Prince Andrew made ‘disrespectful comments’ towards Diana.

Welch made the revelation in a segment discussing the royal’s relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who had died by suicide a month earlier, which she called a ‘huge mistake’.  

The broadcaster said she attended the dinner with her ex-husband Tim Healy and several others, including an unnamed actress and a cricketer. 

Recalling how she and the cricketer had agreed it would be insensitive to talk about Diana, the panellist recalled Prince Andrew starting to do so. 

Furious: ‘He really upset me about the way he spoke about his late sister in law with such disdain in front of people,’ she said

She said on the show: ‘Prince Andrew was very keen to talk about her and he began to say things that really upset me and to me were very disrespectful to someone he shouldn’t have been sharing this information with.’

Welch said this made her ‘very, very cross’ and she told Andrew how she felt. 

She continued: ‘Back in the day I enjoyed a vodka or two… by the time he got up to leave he put his hand on my husband’s shoulder and said ‘rather you than me sir’.’ 

On Friday, Palace sources said the ‘ruthless and swift’ decision had been ‘widely discussed’ within the Royal Family following Andrew’s failed bid to persuade a judge to dismiss the civil lawsuit in which he is accused of having sex with a trafficking victim.

‘This is about the survival of the institution at all costs. Always has been and always will be,’ a senior palace source said. In its statement the palace declared: ‘With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

Angry: In September 2019, Denise first claimed she heard Prince Andrew made ‘disrespectful comments’ towards Diana

‘The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.’

Andrew was yesterday summoned for a 90-minute meeting with his mother at Windsor Castle – and was accompanied by his personal lawyer, Gary Bloxsome, who drove with him from his nearby home, Royal Lodge.

But Mr Bloxsome, who was employed by the prince to orchestrate his fight back against Virginia Roberts’ allegations of rape and sexual assault, was unable to enter the royal residence and was left sitting in the car, castle insiders revealed.

The decision to remove Andrew’s remaining titles and bar him from using his HRH title represents his complete removal from official royal life and will be seen as an attempt to distance the monarchy once and for all from his legal woes.

Over: It comes after the Duke of York was stripped of his military titles by The Queen with the news announced in a statement from Buckingham Palace 

The duke now faces a jury trial in the autumn over Miss Roberts’ claims, which he has consistently denied. 

It is believed that discussions among family members have been going on for several weeks as Andrew’s attempts to derail the case were repeatedly shot down.  

A well-placed palace source said the Queen and her advisers had decided to follow ‘the same model’ of effective banishment with Andrew as she had with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

The Prince, 61, was keen to make clear that his battle to clear his name and restore his reputation was not over. 

Drama: The Duke Of York is set to face a trial in New York this autumn after he was accused of sexual assualt by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (pictured in 2018) 

A source close to the duke said his legal team were ‘unsurprised’ by the judge’s decision not to throw the sex case out given last week’s bruising hearing in New York, during which he was openly dismissive of their argument to dismiss the suit.

They added: ‘This is a marathon not a sprint and the duke will continue to defend himself against these claims.’

Following his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew was forced by the Queen, Charles and William to step down from official duties. 

But he was allowed to keep a dozen military affiliations, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards – a position inherited from his father the Duke of Edinburgh – and dozens of charitable patronages went into ‘abeyance’ while he worked to clear his name.

On Thursday, the royal’s lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic were locked in crisis talks after their motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts was ‘denied in all respects’, meaning the case is now heading towards an unedifying trial in the autumn.

Angry: In September 2019, Denise first claimed she heard Prince Andrew made ‘disrespectful comments’ towards Diana (pictured at the time) 

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