‘Long overdue’: Northern Irish council votes to rename Prince Andrew Way | Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland council has agreed to name a street named Prince Andrew Way after former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Mid and East Antrim council decided on Monday to begin a “long overdue” process to dismantle the street’s association with disgraced royalty. It was named Prince Andrew Way in memory of his wedding to Sarah Ferguson in 1986, but there were calls to change the name after Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles last month.

Councilors unanimously supported the Alliance party’s motion to give a new name to shops and businesses in Carrickfergus.

“This is a sad but necessary proposal,” said Anna Henry of the Traditional Unionist Voice party. “Sadly the alleged actions of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have made it impossible for this council to continue to honor him in the way the good people of Mid and East Antrim have done in the past.”

Montbatten-Windsor’s friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, led King Charles to strip him of his titles and honors. The former prince denied Giuffre’s claims.

Unionist parties and Sinn Féin backed the motion by Alliance councilor Lauren Gray. “Given the public comment at the local level, it seems like we are too late to look at what needs to be done to make this change,” Gray said. He said the street’s connection with the royal family should be preserved and the street was named after Queen Elizabeth II. He suggested naming it after Elizabeth.

Valerie Watts, the council’s interim president, said changing the name of a street was not easy. “Residents definitely need to be consulted because this could have far-reaching consequences for them, such as changing your bank account address, credit cards, driver’s licence, utility bills, etc. But it can be done and the council has the power to change street names.”

There are calls for other roads to be named after the former prince. Residents living on Prince Andrew Road and adjacent Prince Andrew Close in Maidenhead, England, wanted their addresses to be renamed. “Eyebrows always go up when you order something or tell someone where you live,” Prince Andrew Road resident Andrew Kirk said. He told the Maidenhead Advertiser.