After facing sustained public pressure and renewed debate over his past, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor will no longer carry the title of prince and is preparing to give up Royal Lodge, the large Windsor residence he has occupied for two decades.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement on Thursday night, confirming that the King has formally begun the steps to remove the royal style, honours and privileges previously associated with him.
The statement said he will now be addressed only as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, ending a chapter in which he held senior royal status.
The move follows a month of intense public focus on his personal history, including the resurfacing of allegations by Virginia Giuffre in her posthumous memoir.
In the book, Giuffre stated she had sex with Andrew on three occasions while she was still a teenager. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Giuffre’s family responded to the latest developments by saying she “brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage”. She died earlier this year.
Before the palace statement, Andrew had already stepped back from royal life and earlier this month relinquished the Duke of York title. The new action marks the strongest formal step yet by the royal household to distance itself from him.
Alongside the removal of his title, the Palace confirmed that “formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease” on Royal Lodge. The property, which he has occupied since 2004 under a 75-year lease arrangement with the Crown Estate, will no longer be his residence. He will instead move to private accommodation within Sandringham Estate, which will be supported financially by King Charles.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement said. It added that the Palace remains supportive of victims of “any and all forms of abuse”.
His daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will keep their royal titles, and he remains eighth in the line of succession. Sarah Ferguson, who has lived at Royal Lodge as well, will also relocate and is expected to make new living plans. She recently returned to using her maiden name after ceasing to use the Duchess of York title.
The government was consulted and backed the decision. On BBC Question Time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the move as sending a “very powerful message to the victims of grooming and sex offences”. She said, “This is a huge development and a big step for the King to take. I have to say, just, you know, as an initial response, I really support the step that he's taken.”
The decision follows extensive questions around Andrew’s past dealings with Jeffrey Epstein and how he financed his home. Documents recently revealed that he paid more than £8m in advance for the lease and renovations instead of paying a regular annual rent. It also emerged this week that Epstein had been hosted at Royal Lodge in 2006 during Princess Beatrice’s birthday celebration, shortly after an arrest warrant for Epstein was issued in the United States. Andrew did not respond to the latest reports.
By announcing this move, the Palace is signalling an effort to firmly close this chapter and move forward without the shadow of the controversy around Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
