By BRIAN MELLEY and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Thursday stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Buckingham Palace said.
After the king’s rare move, which follows years of shameful scandals, he will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and not as a prince, and he will have to vacate his Royal Lodge mansion near Windsor Castle.
Demand had been growing on the palace to oust the prince from Royal Lodge after he surrendered his use of the title Duke of York earlier this month over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, whose posthumous memoir hit bookstores last week.
But the king went even further to punish him for serious lapses of judgment by removing the title of prince that he has held since birth as a child of a monarch, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“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.”
It is almost unprecedented for a British prince or princess to be stripped of that title. It last happened in 1919, when Prince Ernest Augustus, who was a U.K. royal and also a prince of Hanover, had his British title removed for siding with Germany during World War I.
Toppling a prince
Giuffre’s brother declared victory for his sister, who died by suicide in April at the age of 41.
“Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” her brother Skye Roberts said in a statement to the BBC.
Andrew faced a new round of public outrage after emails emerged earlier this month showing he had remained in contact with Epstein longer than he previously admitted.
That news was followed by publication of “Nobody’s Girl,” by Giuffre, who alleged she had sex with Andrew when she was 17. The book detailed three alleged sexual encounters with Andrew, who she said acted as if he believed “having sex with me was his birthright.”
Andrew, 65, has long denied Giuffre’s claims, but stepped down from royal duties after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he attempted to rebut her allegations.
Andrew paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
King couldn’t avoid the controversy
Although Charles was involved in discussions with Andrew before he announced he would relinquish his dukedom two weeks ago, the king had largely managed to steer clear of the scandal until this week.
After attending an event at Lichfield Cathedral on Monday, the king was heckled by a man who shouted questions about how long he had known about his brother and Epstein and then asked: “Have you asked the police to cover up for Andrew?”
The king did not respond and it wasn’t clear if he even heard the man, who was shouted down by others and eventually pulled from sight.
But video of the incident made the evening news and was the source of embarrassing headlines the next morning.
It’s the most dramatic royal departure since 1936, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. The couple were given the titles Duke and Duchess of Windsor and lived the rest of their lives in exile outside Britain.
Prince Harry, despite renouncing his royal role, feuding with his family and moving to California, remains a prince and the Duke of Sussex.
The move by the king means Andrew will no longer be a prince or known as His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness or Baron Killyleagh — all titles he held until now. Also gone are honors that include Order of the Garter and status as Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.
From favored son to tabloid fodder
Andrew, who was said to be his mother’s favorite child, had once been the poster boy of the royal family, and his romantic links to a number of models and starlets during his youth were widely chronicled in the British press.
His star status peaked after he flew missions as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy during the 1982 Falklands War when British forces sailed to the south Atlantic to eject the Argentine military that had invaded the U.K. overseas territories.
But he has also been dogged by decades of tawdry headlines about shady business deals, inappropriate behavior and controversial friendships.
Even as the Epstein scandal swirled, news broke that showed his damaged reputation and need for money led him to become entangled with a suspected Chinese spy.
Andrew is expected to move to a property on the king’s Sandringham estate near the northeast coast and receive private financial support from his brother.
His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who had been living with him in the 30-room mansion, will have to find a new home.