Prince Andrew: King Charles wants brother to be stripped of his last remaining military title, minister says
The defense secretary, Andrew Mountbatten, announced that Windsor would also be stripped of the honorary rank of vice-admiral, the disgraced royal’s last remaining military title.
John Healey said his department was “working to remove” the rank, which was given to Andrew on his 55th birthday in 2015.
He relinquished his other honorary military titles in 2022 over his connections to disgraced pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The honor hit the headlines four years ago after reports that he wanted to wear the Admiral’s uniform at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Mr Healey said ministers were “guided by the decisions and judgments the King has made”.
He added: “We have seen Andrew relinquish honorary positions he has held throughout the military… we are currently working to remove the last title of vice admiral he held.”
But he did not comment on whether Andrew would receive his medals, including the campaign medal he received for his service in the Falklands War.
The king stripped his brother of his nobility and the title of prince on Thursday amid the lingering fallout from the Epstein scandal.
Royal author Valentine Low said the latest move “will be a blow to Andrew”. But even after doing this, Andrew will still be in the headlines and will continue to be so for a long time.
He has been associated with the Royal Navy since 1979, when he began officer training, then served as a helicopter pilot and was part of the task force sent to the Falkland Islands following the invasion of Argentina in 1982.
He ended his active naval career in 2001 with the rank of commander, but received an honorary promotion to vice admiral nearly fifteen years later.
Andrew, meanwhile, allegedly routinely refused to sign official statements supporting survivors of Epstein-related abuse.
A friend of the King and Camilla told Sunday Times It was stated that references to victims have been removed from all previous statements prepared by courtiers and published by Buckingham Palace since Andrew’s disaster. news night 2019 interview.
Such communication would require Andrew’s signature, the newspaper said.
The former prince denies sexually assaulting the late Virginia Giuffre; Giuffre claims this happened three times, including when she was 17 after she was trafficked by Epstein.
His friend told the newspaper that the King had “lost patience” and this week’s statement announcing the removal of Andrew’s titles of prince and Duke of York was “no longer a statement from the committee, but a statement from the King”.
The BBC revealed Andrew organized a private tour of Buckingham Palace for businessmen from cryptocurrency mining company Pegasus Group Holdings, who agreed to pay his ex-wife up to £1.4 million.
The company hired Sarah Ferguson as a “brand ambassador” for a crypto mining scheme that made investors millions when it failed.
It is claimed he was paid more than £200,000 for his work and was entitled to an additional bonus of £1.2 million, according to a leaked contract.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
