<\/p>\n
No one is bigger than the monarchy. Not even the king\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n
In the end, that reality spelled the end of Andrew\u2019s life as a prince of the realm.<\/p>\n
As details of Andrew\u2019s links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued to dribble out and Parliament raised questions about his rent-free residence at a sprawling country house near Windsor Castle, King Charles III moved Thursday to shield the monarchy from any further revelations.<\/p>\n
WATCH:<\/strong> Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre\u2019s posthumous memoir exposes abuse by powerful men<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace, the king said he had taken steps to strip his brother of all his titles and honors<\/a>, including the one he has held since birth \u2014 prince. From now on, the scandal-plagued British royal will be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.<\/p>\n Andrew is also being forced to move out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he has lived for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe monarchy needed to draw the thickest line they could between Andrew and the rest of the royal family,\u201d said Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London. \u201cAnd he\u2019s precisely done that.\u201d<\/p>\n The king\u2019s decision came after the announcement earlier this month that Andrew had agreed to stop using the titles failed to stanch the flood of tawdry stories that threaten to weaken support for the monarchy. Far from ending the media frenzy, the earlier move spurred calls from some members of Parliament that Andrew be formally stripped of his titles and evicted from Royal Lodge.<\/p>\n That raised the prospect of a parliamentary debate on Andrew\u2019s conduct that would have subjected the royal family to even more unwanted publicity.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> House Democrats release partial Epstein records referencing Musk, Gates and Prince Andrew<\/a><\/p>\n Andrew\u2019s disgrace comes as Charles, who is 76 and undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, works to resolve stubborn problems and buttress the foundations of the monarchy for his elder son, Prince William, to inherit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis, I think, was a very clear statement of what had to be done to get the house in order (now) and also going forward for the future,\u201d said George Gross, a royal expert at King\u2019s College London. \u201cThat makes life easier for Prince William \u2026 I think that\u2019s also part of it. But it felt inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n While the king\u2019s decision may help shield the monarchy from the fallout from the scandal, it won\u2019t end Andrew\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n The latest round of stories about Andrew was triggered by the publication of a memoir written by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew when she was 17. Giuffre, an American living in Australia, took her own life earlier this year.<\/p>\n Her brother, Sky Roberts, on Thursday lauded his sister\u2019s long fight to expose Epstein and Andrew, but continued to call for the king\u2019s brother to be prosecuted.<\/p>\nA clear statement<\/h2>\n
Andrew\u2019s problems aren\u2019t solved<\/h2>\n