King Charles III has officially stripped his younger brother, Prince Andrew, of his “prince” title and ordered him to leave his long-time Windsor residence, Royal Lodge, amid renewed controversy over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement on Thursday, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King “has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew,” adding that the 65-year-old royal “will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.”
The Palace also revealed that formal notice had been served for Andrew to surrender the lease on Royal Lodge, his home of over two decades. He is expected to move to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, with any future accommodation privately financed by the King.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement read. “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.”
Although formally removing his Duke of York title requires an act of parliament, Andrew had voluntarily stopped using it earlier this month under growing public and political pressure.
His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, will also vacate Royal Lodge and revert to her maiden name. The 66-year-old author and television personality shares two daughters with Andrew — Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The King’s decisive move follows the posthumous publication of Nobody’s Girl, the memoir of Virginia Giuffre, who repeated allegations that she was forced to have sex with Andrew as a teenager. The prince has repeatedly denied the claims.
Further scrutiny arose after leaked emails surfaced showing Andrew maintained contact with Epstein months after he claimed to have severed ties in 2010.
Andrew’s connection to Epstein has long tarnished his reputation, particularly after his disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview, which led to his withdrawal from public duties. In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre without admitting guilt — a deal that saw Queen Elizabeth strip him of his military titles and royal patronages.
