King Charles III’s scandal-hit brother Andrew loses Prince title, to move out of Royal Lodge

London, Oct 31 (PTI) Andrew, the scandal-hit younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III, has lost his title of Prince and will soon move out of his Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Castle estate as he was removed from the official 'Roll of the Peerage' on Friday, Buckingham Palace has said.

The King's decision on Thursday evening came days after Andrew voluntarily relinquished the title of Duke of York and all other royal honours after a “discussion” with the monarch, amid “continued accusations” around his association with American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

However, the controversy refused to die down as British MPs took the unusual step of debating the matter of Andrew’s token rent for his grand royal lodgings.

“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” 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 stated.

The palace notes that the “censures” are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that Andrew continues to deny the allegations against him.

“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the statement concluded.

The formal procedures involved the monarch sending royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor, a role held by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, for a government sign off to make the move official without the need for parliamentary intervention. The removal process applies to Andrew’s titles of Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and the style “His Royal Highness” and royal honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.

According to royal sources, Andrew is set to move out of his 30-room mansion “as soon as practicable” to a property on the King’s private Sandringham Estate that will be “privately funded” by the monarch.

The scandal-hit 65-year-old former Duke had already stopped using the “His Royal Highness (HRH)” title, having stepped back as a working royal.

Earlier this month, he announced that all his other titles will also become inactive, even as he continued to “vigorously” deny all accusations against him.

As a son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, he was expected to retain the title of “Prince” in accordance with Letters Patent issued in 1917 by King George V, which were updated by his mother in 2012.

“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 [Charles] and the royal family,” Prince Andrew said in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace on October 17.

“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

“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. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me,” he said at the time.

Even as Andrew, now a former prince with immediate effect, continues to deny the accusations against him, the unprecedented step by the 76-year-old King was deemed necessary following his “serious lapses of judgement.” Andrew’s ex-wife and close friend, Sarah Ferguson, will also no longer use her title of the Duchess of York but the titles of their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, remain unaffected as the daughters of the son of a British Sovereign – the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The latest steps followed growing public pressure on Andrew over reports of his relationship with the convicted paedophile financier Epstein and also links with an alleged Chinese spy.

A memoir entitled ‘Nobody’s Girl’ by Virginia Giuffre, who had sued the senior royal back in August 2021 over an alleged sexual assault and died in April, threw up further allegations when it was released posthumously recently.

In a latest statement, Giuffre’s family said she had “brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”. PTI AK SCY NPK NPK