King Charles’ Brother Andrew To Be Stripped Of ‘Prince’ Title And Evicted From Royal Mansion
Adedokun Waliyu
3 min read
Britain’s King Charles has started a process to strip his brother Andrew of his titles and given him notice to move out of his mansion, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.
Andrew, 65, has face renewed scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the release of his sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl.”
Giuffre – who the prince claims never to have met – said in the memoir that Andrew sexually assaulted her while she was a teenager. Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.
On Thursday, Buckingham Palace went further in censuring Andrew, saying in a statement: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
“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,” the statement continued. “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
CNN understands Andrew will be moving to a property on the Sandringham estate, which is privately owned by the British monarch, as opposed to the Crown Estate, which manages the royal family’s land and property holdings. It will be privately funded by King Charles. The move will take place as soon as it is practicable.
It’s understood the palace acted because while it acknowledges that Andrew continues to deny all allegations made against him, it is clear that he made serious lapses of judgement.
CNN understands that rather than formally remove Andrew’s title as Duke of York via an act of parliament, King Charles will send royal warrants to remove Andrew’s peerage in relation to York, Inverness and Killyleagh.
Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, will retain their titles as they are the daughters of the son of a sovereign – in line with rules set out by King George V in 1917.
It is also understood that the British government was consulted on the King’s decisions, and the government has made it clear that it supports the moves.
“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,” Buckingham Palace added in the statement.
Andrew had sought to end the renewed scrutiny of his conduct by relinquishing use of his titles earlier this month. But his moves did little to stem the flow of negative headlines and sparked fresh questions about how he was able to pay Giuffre a reportedly multimillion-dollar settlement in a civil case in 2022 and fund his lifestyle despite having not been a working royal since 2019.
Public anger has also grown after it emerged last week that he paid $1 million for Royal Lodge, in the heart of Windsor Great Park near Windsor Castle, in 2003, and only a peppercorn rent “if demanded” each year since then, according to his lease agreement.
On Monday, the British monarch was heckled by a protester who could be heard shouting “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?” as he carried out a cathedral visit in northwest England.
