Prince Andrew is to be stripped of his royal titles and will move out of his home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Buckingham Palace has announced. King Charles has initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew, who will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The decision follows anxiety within the royal household about the reputational risk to the monarchy caused by continual headlines concerning Andrew’s friendship with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre. Andrew has always denied claims he had sex with Giuffre when she was 17, and settled a civil case with her for a reported £12m with no admission of liability.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: 'Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge 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.' It is understood that Andrew will move to a property on the private Sandringham estate in Norfolk, to be privately funded by the king.
The removal process applies to the titles of Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and the style His Royal Highness. The honours affected are Andrew’s Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. He had ceased to use the HRH style in 2022 but it had not been formally removed.
King Charles is understood to have acted with the support of the Prince of Wales, and Andrew did not object to the process. The government supports the decision. Giuffre’s family said on Thursday that 'today, she declares a victory' and that she had 'brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage'.
