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Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince Andrew will be stripped of his titles, including ‘prince’, and forced out of his longtime royal mansion, amid growing criticism over his ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” the palace said on Friday, adding that King Charles had started the formal process to strip the titles from his brother, as well as his honours.
Pressure has intensified against Andrew following the release of a posthumous memoir by American Australian Virginia Giuffre, who alleged in 2014 that she had been trafficked to Andrew by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell as a 17-year-old.
Andrew has consistently maintained his innocence in the face of allegations. In 2022, he chose to resolve Virginia Giuffre’s civil sexual assault lawsuit by agreeing to a multimillion-dollar settlement.
The statement from Buckingham Palace on Friday said a formal notice had now been served on Andrew to surrender the lease of his mansion, Royal Lodge, and he will move to alternative private accommodation.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the palace said.
“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.”
A source close to the palace remarked that despite Andrew’s steadfast denial of the accusations, it was undeniable that significant errors in judgment had occurred.
The source said the decision was taken by Charles but that the monarch had the support of the wider family, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William.
In recent weeks, British newspapers have turned their focus on Andrew’s finances, after The Times reported that he had not paid rent on his 30-room mansion for two decades, but had funded at least £7.5 million ($15 million) of renovations when he moved in.
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