King Charles strips Prince Andrew of royal titles and honours

Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles has initiated a formal process to remove the titles and honours of Prince Andrew.

“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” the palace said in a statement on Thursday. “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.”

He has also been ordered to surrender his lease on Royal Lodge, a residence on the Windsor estate, and will relocate to a private property on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, according to BBC News. The property will be privately funded by the King.

“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the palace said, adding that the monarch’s sympathies “remain with the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

The announcement follows years of controversy over Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein and allegations from Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her as a teenager and died by suicide earlier this year. Andrew has consistently denied the allegations.

“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” Giuffre’s family said in a statement. “Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability… Today, she declares victory.”

“We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” the statement added.

The palace did not specify when Andrew would leave Royal Lodge or when the formal removal of his titles would be completed.