Amid allegations linking him to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal titles on Thursday, and had to leave his residence at the Windsor estate to move to a private establishment.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said that Andrew's brother and King Charles III has decided to strip him of all his royal titles and honours.
Read full statement:
His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.
Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.
These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him. 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, who earlier held the Duke of York title, lived at the Royal Lodge with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. According to reports, the two will move to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk County from their Windsor estate residence.
The Sandringham Estate is also reportedly privately owned by King Charles III, and the king will fund his brother's stay at the estate.
Notably, Prince Andrew had relinquished most of his titles just days earlier amid allegations linking him to Jeffrey Epstein. On October 17, he gave up his Duke of York title, citing the accusations against him, though he has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
"I will therefore no longer use the title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me," he had said in a statement.
One of the survivors in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal sued Prince Andrew in 2021, alleging that he sexually abused her as a teen, after she was “trafficked” to him by Epstein. She died by suicide a few years later.
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