Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that Prince Andrew will be stripped of all royal titles, including prince — a formal move initiated by King Charles III.
Moving forward, Andrew will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, using the surname given to members of the House of Windsor.
Andrew, the younger brother to King Charles, has faced heightened scrutiny this fall over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has repeatedly denied all accusations stemming from his link to Epstein.
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honors of Prince Andrew,” said a statement from Buckingham Palace.
His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will maintain their titles, as they are children of the son of a sovereign, under King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917.
Andrew will also be evicted from his sprawling, 30-bedroom Windsor estate, Royal Lodge, and move to a private residence provided by Charles. A “formal notice” has been served to Andrew, demanding he “surrender the lease” on his royal property, Buckingham Palace said.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” added the statement from Buckingham Palace.
“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 motion to completely strip Andrew of his titles comes less than two weeks after the disgraced prince announced he would voluntarily give up his royal titles — while maintaining the title of prince — over his ongoing connection to the Epstein scandals.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew wrote in a personal statement. “I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.”
He added that he continues to “vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
In November 2019, Andrew stepped down from his role as a working royal for the “foreseeable future,” he said in a statement at the time. He noted that his entanglement in the Epstein scandal had become a “major disruption” to the royal family and its “valuable work.”
“I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein,” he added. “I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives.”
Since stepping down, Andrew has made no public appearances other than a handful of family events, such as funerals and birthdays.
Andrew has been sucked into several scandals over his ties to Epstein. Recently, a posthumous memoir from Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre alleges sexual interactions with Andrew while she was still a minor, per CBS News.
In a 2022 lawsuit, Andrew denied all allegations from Giuffre and they settled.
“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others,” one of the 2022 court documents said, per USA Today.
“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”
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