Prince Andrew has been stripped of his royal titles and honors and ordered to depart his longtime residence the Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace stated.
“His Majesty has immediately initiated a proper course of to take away the Model, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” the palace stated in a press release Thursday night, marking a unprecedented intervention by the British monarch.
“Prince Andrew will now be often called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” the palace wrote. “His lease on Royal Lodge has, up to now, supplied him with authorized safety to proceed in residence. Formal discover has now been served to give up the lease and he’ll transfer to various personal lodging.”
“These censures are deemed obligatory, however the truth that he continues to disclaim the allegations in opposition to him,” the assertion added.
The announcement follows renewed scrutiny over Andrew’s friendship with the late disgraced financier and convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, in addition to reviews that he was dwelling successfully rent-free within the 30-room lodge, prompting a barrage of wider questions on the way in which Britain’s royals are funded.
Andrew introduced earlier this month that he could be giving up his titles, together with the Duke of York, although he was anticipated to stay often called Prince Andrew.
Andrew withdrew from royal duties in 2020 after public backlash over a BBC interview wherein he maintained that he didn’t remorse his friendship with Epstein and stated “the people who I met and the alternatives that I used to be given to be taught both by him or due to him have been really very helpful.”
“Their Majesties want to clarify that their ideas and utmost sympathies have been, and can stay with, the victims and survivors of any and all types of abuse,” Buckingham Palace stated.