The commoner formerly known as Prince: How King Charles will remove his brother Andrew’s
King Charles has tonight stripped his brother Andrew of his formal royal titles, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
Amid the growing resentment towards Andrew over his alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, the dead New York financier paedophile, he will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace today said: ‘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.’
But many questions remain as to exactly what this ‘formal process’ looks like, and what it means for the King’s brother.
So, what exactly is Andrew being stripped of?
For starters, his four formal titles: Prince, the Duke of York, the Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh.
Andrew (pictured) will no longer be known as a prince and is to leave Royal Lodge, Buckingham Palace has tonight confirmed.
Security stand at the gates of the Royal Lodge following tonight’s announcement
Andrew is also having his style, the proper way of greeting him as a royal, taken from him. No longer is it required to address him as ‘His Royal Highness’.
And the disgraced ex-prince will also have his membership of the Order of the Garter and Victorian Order, the latter of which he was a Knight Grand Cross.
Though Andrew previously agreed to stop using his formal titles, King Charles is sending Royal Warrants to the Lord Chancellor, currently former foreign secretary David Lammy, to ensure they are entirely removed.
This will ensure that Andrew can no longer use the titles in an official capacity.
The Daily Mail understands that King Charles chose not to abolish the Dukedom of York with an Act of Parliament as it would take up too much time.
As for his new name, while there will be no change to his birth certificate, ‘Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’ will be what the ex-prince is known as from now on.
While the whole process has been initiated by His Majesty, Andrew is understood not to have objected to it.
His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princes Eugenie, will still retain their titles. They both remain Her Royal Highnesses as granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth.
A source told the Mail: ‘[King Charles] wouldn’t have wanted to sign off on anything that would impact them’.
The Royal Family released a public statement regarding the move this evening
Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Andrew’s former home
It is understood Prince William and the Royal Family fully support the King’s leadership on the recent move.
Andrew’s recent departure from the Royal Lodge, where he paid ‘peppercorn rent’ for over 20 years’, comes amid an ongoing row over the residence since his dukedom title was stripped earlier this month.
However as of today, it is understood Andrew has been served to surrender the lease at the 30-broom mansion and will move out of the residence as soon as practically possible.
The younger brother of the King will be moved to a property on the Sandringham estate, however the specifics regarding the move are unknown.
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will make her own living arrangements after moving out of the royal grounds of Windsor Castle, it is understood.
The move was entirely down to the King and his advisors, without pressure from the government or other family members, such as Prince William, sources told the Mail.
‘The process has been underway for some while but there was a need to get it right in the face of some very big challenges,’ an insider said.
Notice was not served on Andrew to move, it was his lease, so the former duke’s decision to serve notice himself, suggesting that he is not fighting the process.
Amid the controversy, His Majesty, King Charles III, was very keen to ‘protect’ Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who remain Her Royal Highnesses
King Charles III on October 16 during a visit to the High Commission of Australia in London
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew attending the Royal Ascot in 2019
Andrew has lived at the Grade II-listed mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle for over two decades with Fergie, despite their divorce in 1996.
His Majesty made it clear he would not hesitate to take ‘further action’ if his younger brother continued to cling on to his dukedom and other honours after he lied about cutting ties with Jeffrey Epstein, The Daily Mail revealed.
And despite the tsunami of growing evidence mounting against him, the 65-year-old was understood to still be ‘digging his heels in’ with a ‘startling lack of contrition’, in a situation the King deemed ‘intolerable’, sources previously said.
Last week, the row over the Royal Lodge continued to grow amid damning revelations in a posthumous memoir from Andrew’s sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life this year, aged 41.
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was released in this month, with the manuscript having been completed before she died.
The explosive book revolves around her years spent as a sex slave to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his British madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
Extracts published by The Guardian show Ms Giuffre, who said she was trafficked by Epstein three times for sex with Andrew, called the ex-Duke ‘entitled’ and viewing sex as his ‘birthright’.