King Charles strips Prince Andrew of royal title, orders him out of Windsor home over Epstein scandal

King Charles III has formally stripped Prince Andrew, his younger brother, of his “prince” title and ordered him to vacate his Windsor residence.

The decision comes amid renewed scrutiny of Andrew’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said the King “has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew”.

The statement added that the 65-year-old royal “will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor”.

The palace also confirmed that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on Royal Lodge, Andrew’s Windsor mansion, which he has lived in for more than two decades.

He is expected to relocate to the royal estate in Sandringham, Norfolk, with any future accommodation privately funded by the King.

“These censures are deemed necessary, 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.”

It requires an act of parliament to formally strip Andrew of his Duke of York title, though he voluntarily gave up its use earlier this month as pressure mounted over his continued association with Epstein.

Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, who had retained the title Duchess of York since their 1996 divorce, will also move out of Royal Lodge and revert to her maiden name.

The 66-year-old author and television personality is the mother of Andrew’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The latest royal action follows the release of Nobody’s Girl, a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who repeated allegations that she was forced to have sex with Andrew as a teenager on three occasions. The prince has consistently denied the claims.

The development also comes after emails re-emerged this month showing that Andrew remained in contact with Epstein months after publicly claiming to have severed ties with the financier in 2010.

Andrew’s ties with Epstein have haunted his public life since his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, after which he stepped back from royal duties.

In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlementwith Giuffre in a civil lawsuit without admitting liability, prompting Queen Elizabeth to strip him of his honorary military titles and patronages.(The cable)