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\n \n Britain\u2019s King Charles took the extraordinary step<\/a> of starting the process to strip his brother Andrew of his royal titles and evict him from the royal estate in Windsor, in the most dramatic attempt yet to quell the scandal over the disgraced prince\u2019s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.\n <\/p>\n \n The move, described in stark terms by Buckingham Palace as \u201cnecessary censures,\u201d cements the deepest split in the British royal family in decades. The question now: whether King Charles and the British establishment have done enough to prevent Andrew\u2019s association with Epstein<\/a> from engulfing the monarchy.\n <\/p>\n \n Andrew, 65, had faced 15 years of on-and-off controversy over his friendship with Epstein that had reached a new intensity after the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Andrew had sexually assaulted her as a teenager.\n <\/p>\n \n Giuffre \u2013 who the prince claims never to have met \u2013 died by suicide in April at the age of 41. Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.\n <\/p>\n \n Giuffre\u2019s family said in a statement on Thursday: \u201cToday, an ordinary American girl, from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Sky Roberts, Giuffre\u2019s brother, told celebrity.land that it had been a \u201cjoyous and happy and sad day.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In the statement, Buckingham Palace noted that Andrew would be forced out of his residence and take the family name. \u201cPrince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge<\/a> has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation,\u201d the statement continued.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThese censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Andrew will move to a property on the Sandringham estate, about 100 miles north of London, which is privately owned by the British monarch. Royal Lodge sits within Windsor Great Park, part of the Crown Estate, which manages the royal family\u2019s land and property holdings on behalf of the British state. Andrew\u2019s new accommodation will be privately funded by King Charles.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s understood the palace acted because while it acknowledges that Andrew continues to deny all allegations made against him, it had concluded that he made serious lapses of judgement.\n <\/p>\n \n Andrew is not expected to move to Sandringham until after the Christmas holidays, according to a royal source.\n <\/p>\n \n Moving in the new year might also avoid potential awkwardness over the holidays as Sandringham is traditionally where the royal family gathers for the festive season. It was previously announced that Andrew would be excluded from Christmas celebrations.\n <\/p>\n \n Andrew had sought to end the renewed scrutiny of his conduct by relinquishing use of his titles<\/a> earlier this month. But his moves did little to stem the flow of negative headlines and sparked fresh questions about how he was able to pay Giuffre a reportedly multimillion-dollar settlement in a civil case in 2022 and fund his lifestyle despite having not been a working royal since 2019.\n <\/p>\n \n Public anger has also grown after it emerged last week that he paid $1 million for Royal Lodge, in the heart of Windsor Great Park near Windsor Castle, in 2003, and only a peppercorn rent \u201cif demanded\u201d each year since then, according to his lease agreement.\n <\/p>\n
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