As Andrew gives up titles, what difference will it really make?

It seems unlikely we’ll see Prince Andrew at a public royal event for at least six months. And then maybe only once or twice a year.

A man banned from attending the royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham will not go on his annual church walk. His reappearance at such a family event could be in April 2026, at the Easter church service, perhaps longer.

But when he reemerges, despite the drama of losing his titles and honor, how much will his life have really changed?

The move against Andrew followed a public outcry for some sort of sanction and there was certainly a strong symbolic message of discontent – ​​but will this really put an end to the incriminating headlines and will his daily life be greatly affected by this?

Buckingham Palace will hope this is seen as a decisive intervention to put an end to the trickle-down scandal.

The King was in Scotland when Andrew decided to give up his titles and reportedly spoke to his brother on the phone.

He had consulted Prince William, who had all the warmth of the ice age for his uncle Andrew. When William eventually ascends to the throne, Andrew’s royal appearances may fade from rare to nonexistent.

It was William who intervened to prevent Andrew from marching in the Order of the Garter procession.

Prince Andrew has suffered a tremendous loss of reputation and will certainly feel that he can no longer use the title of Duke of York and take part in the Order of the Garter. He became a personality without a garter.

This dealt a deep blow to his pride. But in everyday life he is still a prince and still lives in a mansion in Windsor. Royal Lodge has a lease until 2078, so if he leaves it will be his own choice.

His ex-wife, now a former duchess, will also continue to live with him. They returned to the same positions they were in when they first met Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew.

His downfall was caused by his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But even though Andrew has lost his status, if one looks at the infamous photo of him and Virginia Giuffre, everyone else in the picture — Ms. Giuffre, Ghislaine Maxwell — and the person who allegedly took the photo — Epstein — are either dead or in prison. The only one who walks away is the prince.

He can still spend his days watching aviation videos or TV shows. His family life with his daughters, who are still princesses, can continue unchanged.

His declaration that he would not use his titles was more or less a letter of resignation, he did not show the slightest sign of remorse, continuing to emphasize his sense of duty and honour. So there is no change there.

When Andrew was forced to stop being a working royal following the Newsnight interview, there was an expectation that he might adopt the well-worn approach of quiet contrition and some charity work to gradually regain public respect.

Instead, he showed no sense of remorse. A royal insider asked about Andrew’s chances of a dignified return to public life and told me: “The Grand Duke of York gave £12 million to a complete stranger for something he never did.”

This meant that he never accepted responsibility for what happened. The only thing that changed a few years later was that he was no longer the Duke of York.

According to royal sources, the intense pressure put on Prince Andrew by the Palace this week to accept the loss of his title was due to two key factors.

First, the Palace wanted to stop the cacophony of dire headlines about Andrew that were overshadowing the rest of the Royal Family’s work. They wanted a line to be drawn under the scandals.

Secondly, there was genuine discomfort in learning that Prince Andrew had been in contact with Epstein for longer than he had previously admitted. If this part of his narrative is unreliable, what else might emerge?

Getting Prince Andrew to stop using his titles under threat of extortion was an attempt to show the public that the Palace was taking this seriously. They would end their remaining ties to royal life.

While this may make headlines around the world, it will not stop the fundamental questions about Prince Andrew and Epstein and the headlines that accompany them.

It will be published this week Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoryAn Epstein victim who claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew.

The prince has staunchly denied any wrongdoing, but Andrew’s questions about Ms. Giuffre and Epstein appear to be growing rather than lessening. There may also be questions about what the Palace did or did not know about Andrew and Epstein’s circle.

Whether he is called a prince or a former duke, he may be subject to public and political pressure, especially in the United States, to disclose more documents about Epstein.

The press will continue to cover other topics, such as Andrew’s business dealings with China. Whatever the Palace hopes, the headlines are unlikely to stop.

At the center of it all is Prince Andrew, who says nothing about his titles other than a brief declaration written through gritted teeth.

He was much more open to talking to the media before his Newsnight interview in 2019. I remember speaking to him at an event encouraging entrepreneurs in 2017.

In hindsight, it seems unintentionally prophetic.

“One of the things I was taught in school was that the best way to succeed is to fail,” he said.

“If you can learn to fail and do it in a way that provides a safe environment, then you’ve learned something, you’ve experienced something.

“How many times as a little kid did you put your finger in the socket and say ‘oops’ and never do it again?

“If you did it a second time you would think it was really stupid. They failed and they learned what not to do next time,” Prince Andrew said.

“You are always stronger than failure.” Was this a lesson he was good at learning?