King Charles strips Prince Andrew of prince title and gives him notice to leave Royal Lodge

King Charles has announced that his brother has been stripped of the use of his royal “style, titles and honours”.

Earlier this month, Prince Andrew confirmed that he had decided to stop using his “title or the honours which have been conferred upon [him]”, which included the Duke of York.

This initial decision did not include his title as prince, as it was his birth right as the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As the scandal surrounding Andrew’s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to mount, Buckingham Palace has now taken further action.

In a statement released on Thursday evening, King Charles announced that he has “initiated a formal process” to strip Andrew of all of his royal titles and honours, including the use of his ‘prince’ title.

The statement began: “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.”

The statement went on to confirm that Andrew will also be moving out of his home at Royal Lodge and will relocate to Sandringham. Andrew’s residency at Royal Lodge had become an additional scandal in recent days, with members of the public expressing outrage that he has reportedly not paid rent for the accommodation since 2003.

King Charles’ message continued: “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.”

The statement added: “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.”

This latest move against the royal comes six years after BBC Newsnight’s explosive interview with Andrew, in which he addressed his friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein.

During his conversation with presenter Emily Maitlis, Andrew said that he had cut all ties with Epstein in December 2010, shortly after they had been photographed together in New York.

However, old emails recently emerged that suggested that Andrew had privately stayed in touch with Epstein until February 2011. One such email reportedly read: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!”

Andrew has yet to speak out about the removal of his prince title. He has also continued to “vigorously deny” the allegations of sexual abuse made against him by Virginia Giuffre.

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