Prince Andrew Forced to Give Up Royal Titles Over Epstein Ties
And just like that, Prince Andrew is no longer a duke.
The second son of Queen Elizabeth II has been on the outs with the rest of the British royal family since the late Virginia Giuffre, one of pedophilic sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers, first claimed in the 2010s that she had been forced to have sex with the prince while she was a minor.
The king appeared to take matters into his own hands Friday. After years of Andrew being relegated to the fringes of royal life, King Charles III formally stripped his 65-year-old brother of his royal duties. In a concise statement, Prince Andrew acknowledged that his sorry reputation had become a distraction for the rest of the monarchy.
“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,” the prince wrote in a statement released by Buckingham Palace. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
“With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me,” Prince Andrew continued. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Prince Andrew, as a son of the late queen, will retain his title of “prince,” but he has relinquished several other titles since speaking with the king, including his standing as Duke of York and Order of the Garter—two titles that brought him enormous pride.
He cut his military affiliations, ended his royal patronages, and stopped using the style of “His Royal Highness” in 2022 during a civil case brought by Giuffre. The prince settled that lawsuit without admitting any wrongdoing.
Officially nullifying the prince’s titles will, however, take some more time, as the deed requires an official act of Parliament.
The family’s decision to sever ties with Prince Andrew arrived several days after the publication of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl, in which she details at least three incidents in which the prince allegedly raped her.
But Giuffre’s disturbing accusations were far from the only bad press that plagued the prince. Public interest in his personal finances and judgement have also been a sore spot for the family, as was Andrew’s decision to cozy up to an accused Chinese spy.
Quizzically, Andrew’s misdeeds were not severe enough to peel him from the monarchy’s succession plan: he will still remain eighth in line for the throne. He will also remain in his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, where he has a private lease with an expiration date in 2078.
He will not, however, be present during the Royal Family’s Christmas festivities this year in Sandringham.
Prince William, who has had a frigid relationship with Prince Andrew, consulted his father on the decision to strip his uncle of his titles.
“This is unlikely to bring them any closer,” reported the BBC.
Prince Andrew’s children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will reportedly retain their titles, according to the British network. His ex-wife will no longer be known as the Duchess of York and instead will just be Sarah Ferguson.