LONDON: King Charles III has stripped his younger brother Prince Andrew of his remaining royal titles and forced him to vacate his residence at the Royal Lodge following mounting pressure over his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday that the king had “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
Under the unprecedented move, Andrew will no longer be referred to as a prince and will henceforth be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He is also being moved out of his long-held Royal Lodge residence into private accommodation.
It is almost unheard of for a member of the British royal family to be stripped of their princely title. The last such case occurred in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus lost his title for supporting Germany during World War I.
Public pressure had been intensifying since Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title earlier this month, amid renewed scrutiny of his friendship with Epstein and the release of a memoir by Epstein’s victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died in April.
In its statement, Buckingham Palace said the action was taken “for serious lapses of judgment,” while expressing sympathy for victims of abuse. “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the palace said.
Giuffre’s brother, Skye Roberts, hailed the decision as a victory for his late sister, saying, “An ordinary American girl brought down a British prince with her truth and courage.”
The decision follows revelations that Andrew maintained contact with Epstein longer than he had admitted. Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, alleged she had been forced into sexual encounters with Andrew when she was 17, describing his behavior as if “having sex with me was his birthright.”
Though Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, he withdrew from public duties after a disastrous 2019 BBC interview and settled Giuffre’s lawsuit in 2022 by paying millions without admitting wrongdoing.
With his titles removed, Andrew loses all royal designations, including His Royal Highness, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh, as well as honors like the Order of the Garter and Royal Victorian Order.
The 65-year-old is expected to move into a smaller residence on King Charles’s Sandringham estate and will receive private financial support from his brother.
