Call for King to strip Andrew of prince title

Virginia Giuffre’s family has called on the King to strip Prince Andrew of his principality.

Giuffre’s sister, Sky Roberts, praised King Charles but said there was “more he could do.”

Friday’s announcement that Andrew will stop using his remaining titles and honors and will no longer be known as the Duke of York comes amid renewed controversy over his role in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and new scrutiny over his alleged contacts with a suspected Chinese spy.

Meanwhile, Andrew remains a prince.

When he was born in 1960, he automatically became a prince as the son of a monarch, and this could only be changed when a Letters Patent was issued by the King.

“I want to commend the King and the UK for taking action,” Roberts told ITV News.

“While this is not enough from the survivors’ point of view, it is much more than what our own government has given us here, even though we have the Epstein files.

“I think there’s more he can do for the King now. He has the ability to further strip him of the title of prince, which we would call,” he said.

“I think we’ve already taken all the necessary steps. Why don’t we take it a step further and give him up the title of prince as well?”

Roberts said he wants the US to release more of the Epstein files.

“I would also call on the King and other world leaders to put more pressure on the US government to release the files,” he said.

“I know your brother may have been involved and I understand it’s a big decision, but it’s also the right thing to do.”

Friday’s announcement comes days before the release of Giuffre’s memoir. Andrew reportedly paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case involving her in 2022, despite her insistence that she had never met him.

Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times, including when she was 17, after she was trafficked by convicted pedophile Epstein.

In her memoir, she said Andrew acted as if sex with her was her “birthright.”

The former duke used the statement that he had renounced his title to insist that the allegations against him were untrue, saying: “As I have said before, I strongly deny the allegations against me.”

Andrew faced renewed backlash after being featured in the latest documents related to Epstein’s estate, released by the US House Oversight Committee on Friday.

Although he has renounced the dukedom, he technically retains it and this can only be removed by an Act of Parliament.

Titles and honors he will no longer use include his wedding day titles – Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, his knighthood as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and his role as Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The prince resigned from public life in 2019 after saying in a Newsnight interview that he had “no regrets” about his friendship with Einstein.

He was later stripped of his military patronage by the Queen and ceased using the title HRH.