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King Charles has stripped his brother Andrew of the title of prince and told him to leave his Windsor mansion in what Buckingham Palace called “censures” following controversy over his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The palace’s statement about the decision, issued on Thursday, marked a sharp change of tone from its last statement about Andrew, in which he was allowed to retain the title of prince and his lease of the 30-room Royal Lodge.
A person close to the palace said it was clear that, while Andrew continued to deny the accusations against him, there had been “serious lapses of judgment” on his part.
The former prince would now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the statement said, and he would formally lose titles including the Duke of York, which he had previously stopped using voluntarily.
The announcement follows nearly two weeks of controversy about whether Andrew should continue to be known as a prince and retain the right to live in Royal Lodge, where he has lived rent-free since 2003 after paying an initial £8.5mn in upfront fees and for renovations.
The loss of the titles and home comes after publication of a posthumous memoir in which Virginia Giuffre, who said she met Andrew through Epstein, described how Andrew believed sex with her was his “birthright”. She said they first had sex when she was only 17. Giuffre died by suicide in April.
The issue has proved a substantial embarrassment to King Charles, who became monarch after Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022.
Thursday’s announcement contrasted with Buckingham Palace’s previous statement, which was issued in Andrew’s own name and insisted he was voluntarily giving up some of his titles out of a sense of duty.
The latest statement read: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew.”
It also made explicit the royal family’s disapproval of Andrew’s conduct, although it noted Andrew denied any wrongdoing.
Regarding Royal Lodge, it said Andrew’s lease on the mansion had provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. But it added: “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.”
The statement concluded: “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.”
Andrew has consistently denied even having met Giuffre.
The former prince would now move to a private property on the king’s privately held Sandringham estate in Norfolk, a person close to the palace indicated. It also made clear the decision to remove the titles had been made by the king, in consultation with the government.
To remove the titles, the king will send royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor asking him to amend the peerage roll. Andrew will be stripped of the titles Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron of Killyleagh, as well as several honours. That process was preferred to a legislative route that would have taken up parliamentary time.
Buckingham Palace had previously argued Andrew received the title of prince automatically by virtue of being the son of a sovereign and that the title could be removed only by an act of parliament.
The House of Commons’ public accounts committee this week wrote to the Crown Estate, owner of Royal Lodge, demanding further details about how Andrew came to be awarded the 75-year lease over the property.
Under the terms of the lease, Andrew was due to be repaid about £500,000 in refurbishment costs in the event of termination of the lease before August 2028. It remains unclear whether he will receive that sum following the termination, although the palace indicated the costs of remedial work on the property might reduce what is owed.
In a statement, Giuffre’s family said she had “brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”.
A public relations adviser working for Andrew did not reply to a request for comment.
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