Prince Andrew is to lose his ‘prince’ title and leave his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, following weeks of intense scrutiny over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement on Thursday night, Buckingham Palace said the King’s brother will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Andrew gave up his other royal titles earlier this month, including the Duke of York, after facing more questions about his private life.
In a posthumous memoir published earlier this month, Virginia Giuffre repeated allegations that, as a teenager, she had sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions. Andrew has always denied the claims.
Reacting to the latest developments, Ms Giuffre’s family said she “brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”. Giuffre took her own life earlier this year.
In its statement, the Palace said the King “has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew”.
As well as the title, the Palace said “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on Royal Lodge.
He will be moved into private accommodation in Sandringham Estate, which is understood to be privately funded by King Charles.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement continued.
The Palace also expressed its support for victims of “any and all forms of abuse”.
Andrew’s two adult daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, will retain their titles as princesses and Andrew is still eighth in line for the throne.
It is understood that Sarah Ferguson, his ex-wife, will also move out of Royal Lodge and will make her own living arrangements.
Until this month, she kept the title Sarah, Duchess of York – but she reverted to her maiden name of Ferguson after Andrew voluntarily gave up the usage of the Duke of York title.
It is understood that the government was consulted on the decision to strip Andrew of his prince title, and made clear it supported the decision.
Reacting to the news on BBC Question Time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it sent a “very powerful message to the victims of grooming and sex offences”.
“This is a huge development and a big step for the King to take. I have to say, just, you know, as an initial response, I really support the step that he’s taken.”
The stripping of Andrew’s titles caps off weeks of mounting pressure on the Royal Family.
The scandal over his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was reignited by sexual abuse allegations in Ms Giuffre’s memoir.
While Andrew has always strenuously denied abusing Ms Giuffre, earlier this month, emails from 2011 re-emerged, showing Andrew in contact with Epstein months after he claimed their friendship ended.
Details about Andrew’s living arrangements have also come under the spotlight, with fresh questions being asked in recent days about how he is able to fund his lifestyle despite not being a working royal.
Andrew has lived at Royal Lodge since 2004, after signing a 75-year lease deal the previous year with his landlord, the Crown Estate, which operates as an independent property company.
The Grade II-listed Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate boasts a gardener’s cottage, a Chapel Lodge, six-bedroom cottage and security accommodation.
Last week, more details emerged about how he could afford his mansion, after the lease agreement was revealed.
The arrangement means he has only ever paid a token annual rent on Royal Lodge, and even that might not be required under his deal with the Crown Estate, a lease document seen by BBC News confirms.
The deal meant that instead of paying annual rent, Prince Andrew made large lump sum payments upfront, including for renovations.
In effect, those payments – which totalled more than £8m and were detailed in a National Audit Office report – meant he was buying himself out of future rent obligations for the duration of the 75-year lease, based on paying in advance a notional rent of £260,000 per year.
In a separate development, it emerged this week that Prince Andrew hosted Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Lodge as part of his daughter Beatrice’s birthday celebrations in 2006 – two months after a US arrest warrant had been issued for Epstein for the sexual assault of a minor. Andrew did not respond to a request for comment.
For the Palace, Thursday’s announcement is an attempt to draw a line under the scandals surrounding the former Prince Andrew – now simply Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.: Source-BBC
