Less than two weeks after announcing he would no longer use his Duke of York title or honors, his brother King Charles IIIhas taken the extra step to remove Andrew’s “Style, Titles and Honours,” with the 65-year-old now being known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
Indeed, the removal process officially applies to his titles Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and the style “His Royal Highness,” while the honors removed are his Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.
Prince Andrew will also have to move out of his residence at the Royal Lodge, with NBC News learning he will move to a home on the King’s Sandringham estate. (His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who has also been living at Royal Lodge, will make her own arrangements.)
As the royal family explained, these steps were taken due to ongoing allegations against Prince Andrew in connection with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“These censures are deemed necessary,” Buckingham Palace wrote in an Oct. 30 statement, “notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
The statement added, “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.”
Prince Andrew first announced that he would be giving up his titles in an Oct. 17 statement, saying that the “continued accusations” against him “distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.”
However, he continued to deny any wrongdoing, adding, “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Those allegations include that of VirginaGiuffre, who filed a federal lawsuit against Prince Andrew in 2021, alleging that she had been trafficked by Epstein and subsequently sexually abused by the British royal when she was 17 years old.
Prince Andrew settled the suit the following year, and has continued to deny any sexual involvement with Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at the age of 41.
“I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady,” he said during a BBC Newsnight interview at the time. “None whatsoever.”
Credit; ENews
Discover more from Ayobami Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
