Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince Andrew will be stripped of his royal titles and forced to leave his home at Royal Lodge, marking an unprecedented fall from grace for the King’s younger brother amid ongoing scandal.
In a bombshell statement, the palace confirmed Andrew will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, effective immediately. King Charles III has initiated formal proceedings to remove his brother’s Style, Titles and Honours, including the Dukedom of York, Prince title, and Royal Highness designation.
The palace stated these “censures are deemed necessary” despite Andrew’s continued denials of allegations against him, adding that Their Majesties’ “thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
Andrew has been served formal notice to surrender his lease on the Grade II-listed Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle, where he has lived for over two decades. He will relocate to a property on the Sandringham estate, while his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will make her own living arrangements after leaving the royal grounds.
The dramatic move follows mounting pressure from leaked emails revealing Andrew lied about cutting ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In one astonishing message, sent just 12 weeks after claiming to have ceased contact, Andrew told Epstein “we are in this together” and reassured him they would “rise above” press scrutiny. This directly contradicted his infamous Newsnight interview where he claimed he had no contact with Epstein after their December 2010 meeting in Central Park.
The scandal intensified with the posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl, released this month. Giuffre, who died earlier this year aged 41, alleged she was trafficked by Epstein for sex with Andrew three times when she was 17. In her book, she described the Prince as “entitled” and recalled him saying “thank you” in a “clipped British accent” after their alleged first encounter. Andrew denied the allegations but paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in February 2022.
Sarah Ferguson has also faced consequences, being dropped by seven charities including the Teenage Cancer Trust and British Heart Foundation after bombshell emails showed she wrote to Epstein describing him as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend” just weeks after publicly disavowing him. She will now be known as plain Sarah Ferguson rather than Duchess of York.
Prince William and the Royal Family reportedly fully support the King’s decision, which was made without pressure from government or other family members. However, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain their royal titles as granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth II.
Anti-monarchy group Republic has announced it will pursue a private prosecution against Andrew over allegations of sexual assault, corruption, and misconduct in public office, arguing the legal response to date has been “weak and inadequate.”
The move represents one of the most dramatic actions taken against a senior royal in modern history.
