King Charles is considering stripping Prince Andrew of his title of Duke of York after a string of allegations, the Guardian understands. Buckingham Palace is said to have reached a 'tipping point' over headlines about the prince's connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a senior Chinese Communist party official suspected in a collapsed spy case.
Removal of the dukedom would require an act of parliament, but with the king's backing could receive government and public support, according to the Times. Alternatively, the king is 'urgently and actively considering' banishing Andrew from the Order of the Garter, the Daily Mail reports.
The developments follow the publication of extracts from the posthumous memoir of Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died in April. In her book, Giuffre claimed the prince behaved as if he believed 'having sex with me was his birthright'. Andrew has always denied the claims and settled a civil case with her for £12m with no admission of liability.
It has also been reported that Andrew held meetings in 2018 and 2019 with Cai Qi, a member of China's politburo suspected of receiving sensitive information from two British nationals accused of spying. Emails published by the Mail on Sunday appeared to show Andrew had been in contact with Epstein later than he claimed in a 2019 Newsnight interview.
Buckingham Palace had hoped Andrew might voluntarily give up his titles before being forced. A source told the Times that if not, the king would be resolute in taking the difficult steps required to sanction his brother. The palace, Kensington Palace and the Duke of York's representatives have been approached for comment; Kensington Palace declined to comment.
