Prince Andrew: Government faces growing calls to formally strip Duke of York title

The government is facing increasing pressure to formally strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.

Andrew voluntarily gave up his titles last week but will technically continue to hold them unless they are removed by an Act of Parliament.

Rachael Maskell – the independent MP for York Central – told Sky News that 88% of her constituents don’t want the duke “to carry a title bearing the name of our city”.

On the Politics Hub With Darren McCaffrey, she confirmed she is advocating for a change in the law, and argued mechanisms should be in place to remove titles.

“My legislation would be able to be applied to anybody in the future as well, so we wouldn’t have this situation ever having to occur again,” Ms Maskell added.

Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has also warned new legislation must be put forward without “any excuses and any further delay”.

The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “The public knows this is the right thing to do – and even more importantly, the victims at the heart of the Epstein scandal know that it’s the right thing to do.

“Those implicated in the Epstein scandal have been able to escape justice because they have hidden behind their power and privilege.”

A proposed bill has been put forward that would also strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage – weeks after he was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US because of his own ties to the paedophile financier.

Yesterday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the question of legislation was “a matter for the palace in the first instance” – and Downing Street “supports the judgment of the King” regarding what should happen to Prince Andrew’s titles.

Accuser’s memoir published today

Pressure has been growing on Andrew amid continued reports of his relationship with Epstein, with the royal “vigorously denying” the allegations against him.

The posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre – who had accused him of sexual assault and sued him in August 2021 – is being released today. She took her own life in April.

Amy Wallace, who co-authored Nobody’s Girl, said Ms Giuffre would have regarded Andrew relinquishing his titles as a “victory”.

She told BBC Newsnight: “Virginia wanted all the men who she’d been trafficked to against her will to be held to account and this is just one of the men but … even though he continues to deny it, his life is being eroded because of his past behaviour as it should be.”

The new memoir alleges that Andrew asked a royal close protection officer to “dig up dirt” on Ms Giuffre in 2021.

A Buckingham Palace source told Sky’s royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills these claims are “being viewed with very serious and grave concern” – and “should be investigated in the proper and fullest ways”.

‘Police gaslit my sister’

Meanwhile, Ms Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law have urged the Independent Office for Police Conduct to review the Met’s decision not to continue its investigations into the allegations she made against Prince Andrew.

Sky and Amanda Roberts told Channel 4 News that Ms Giuffre had been “gaslit” by detectives – as well as British and American authorities – in what amounted to a “kick in the stomach” for her.

In other developments, questions have been raised about whether Andrew should have the right to continue living at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

Details of the financial arrangements surrounding his 30-bedroom mansion have come to light.

A copy of the leasehold agreement obtained by the PA news agency shows he signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003 at a cost of £1m.

Since then, he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year, a term used to describe a small payment that makes a contract legally binding.

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