QUEEN Elizabeth reportedly protected "weak" Prince Andrew amid fears he would be "more damaging outside the loop", a royal insider has claimed.

       It follows the bombshell unsealing of court papers in the US last week which allege that the Duke of York took part in an underage orgy and appeared in sex tapes — which he strongly denies.

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       The late Queen Elizabeth has been said to have protected "weak" Prince Andrew before her death Credit: Getty 2

       Prince Andrew was spotted at a shooting party on the weekend Credit: Ian Whittaker

       Included in the documents were claims that Andrew took part in an underage orgy on Epstein’s private resort Little Saint James, which is dubbed “paedophile island”.

       The papers also alleged that sex tapes involving Andrew were made by dead billionaire Epstein.

       Andrew was previously accused of having sex with underage Virginia Giuffre on Epstein's "Paedo Island" as well as allegedly knowing about his pal's sex crimes.

       Now, one source has claimed the late Queen tried to protect her "weak" son which contributed to her ill health before her death.

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       A close family friend told MailOnline: "Andrew was the weak one.

       "She was always protecting him and all that certainly took its toll on her health at the end."

       The Queen had also footed Prince Andrew's huge security bill following his withdrawal from public life.

       And while King Charles will not evict the Duke of York, Andrew will reportedly have to foot the annual bill of ￡1million himself or move inside the Windsor cordon.

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       Andrew reportedly remains "penitent and eager to please", but he might not remain so were he to be cast out of the royal fold.

       As one source points out: "Andrew could be far more damaging outside the loop."

       Andrew has reportedly decided to mostly “lock himself away in a room” to avoid the fallout of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

       But on Saturday, the Prince was spotted at Windsor Park for a shooting party with friends.

       The Duke bowed his head as snaps of the group were taken.

       It is only the second time Andrew has made a public appearance since he was brought up in connection with Epstein again.

       He was spotted behind the wheel of his Range Rover at his Royal Lodge home, in Windsor, on Tuesday, after the allegations resurfaced.

       When there are royal family gatherings away from the public gaze, Prince Andrew is still welcome.

       "The King will not just cast his brother adrift. He is very fond of his nieces [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie].

       "And at least [Andrew] hasn't been disloyal," says one source.

       "But any return to public life is out of the question. His legal problems are not resolved, the public don't want him and many people still remember his rudeness last time round."

       More than 1,000 pages of court documents including emails, depositions and legal papers spanning the 2010s were made public by a US judge.

       The files were part of a 2015 lawsuit filed by Giuffre against Epstein's madam Ghislaine Maxwell.

       Previous court docs revealed major allegations against the billionaire financier's pals, including Prince Andrew.

       A statement by Maxwell's lawyer's Philip Barden is included in the most recent files which are made up of 17 exhibits.

       On page three of exhibit one, he claims: "By way of example I recall that prior to the December 2014 filing of the joinder motion and the subsequent press reports that Ms Guiffre clearly stated that she did not have sex with Prince Andrew.

       "Yet in her joinder motion she claimed she did have sex with Prince Andrew and that the sex occurred in what can only be described as a very small bathtub.

       "Too small for a man of Prince Andrew's size to enjoy a bath in let alone sex.

       "So as of December 2014 it was clear Ms Guiffre had made polar opposite statements. She was either lying when she said they did not have sex or when she said they did."

       It comes after the late Queen was furious over Meghan and Harry's claims she had given them her blessing to name their daughter Lilibet, an explosive book has claimed.

       One member of staff has told how the late Monarch was "as angry as I'd ever seen her" when Harry and Meghan said Her Majesty was "supportive" of the choice.

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       As a toddler, Her Majesty used to pronounce her own name 'Lilibet' because she couldn't say Elizabeth.

       It soon became a beloved nickname, used only by close family members including her parents and husband Prince Philip.