The hidden message in Prince Andrew’s statement – and what it says about Prince William’s involvement, according to royal expert

Prince Andrew’s announcement that he will relinquish all remaining royal titles contains a hidden message regarding Prince William’s accession, a royal expert has claimed.

The disgraced royal announced last night that he will no longer be known as the Duke of York and has resigned as a member of the Order of the Garter, the country’s oldest order of chivalry.

Prince Andrew said the decision was taken in discussions with the King and the rest of his family and was a result of the ongoing allegations against him.

Royal expert Jennie Bond said she was ‘impressed’ by the use of the pronoun ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ at some points in the statement.

He said this showed King Charles and Prince William were putting ‘extreme pressure’ on Prince Andrew behind the scenes.

Ms Bond told Sky News: ‘I was struck by the use of the pronoun ‘we’.

‘This is a clear indication that undue pressure was being put on Prince Andrew to do the right thing and fall on his sword, if you will.

‘If he hadn’t fallen on his sword he would have been pushed very hard into it.

Royal expert Jenny Bond said she was ‘impressed’ by the use of the pronoun ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ in Andrew’s statement

Prince Andrew’s statement was released by Buckingham Palace on Friday night

‘He really couldn’t keep up all these headlines that were distracting from the family’s business.

‘I think there were some pointed words between Charles and I think William, who in the background were putting pressure on Andrew to do what most of us would see as the right thing.’

In his statement, Prince Andrew made clear that he continues to deny allegations of sexual assault against him by the late Virginia Giuffre, whom he met through pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

But she acknowledged that ongoing revelations about her dealings with Epstein were a “distraction” from the good work of the Royal Family, The Mail reported on Sunday.

He said his decision was motivated by his desire to “always put my duty to my family and my country first,” and repeated his infamous comment that he chose to break off relations with Epstein by flying to New York to break the news to him in person because he was an “honorable” man.

However, royal expert Ms Bond underlined that Prince Andrew said in his statement that he would stop ‘using’ his titles rather than giving them up.

He said: ‘I was also surprised when he said, ‘I won’t be using my title.’ Actually, he doesn’t give up.

‘He must be referring to the dukedom given to him by his mother in 1986 when he married Sarah Ferguson, no longer Duchess.’

Virginia Giuffre photographed with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001

Virginia Giuffre’s family said she was ‘vindicated’ after Prince Andrew gave up his royal titles last night, adding ‘these monsters cannot escape’ (Image: Virginia Giuffre)

The family of Ms Giuffre, who committed suicide in April, said in a statement last night that Andrew’s decision was ‘a vindication for our sister and survivors everywhere’.

They added: ‘This moment serves as a victory for Virginia, who has consistently claimed: “I know what happened, I know what happened, and only one of us is telling the truth, and I know it’s me.”

Last weekend the MoS exclusively revealed that Andrew had clearly lied when he claimed he never contacted Epstein again after his ‘last’ meeting in December 2010.

12 weeks after the meeting in which Andrew contacted the sex offender, the day after a photo of the prince with Ms Giuffre was published, she obtained emails sent to reassure him that “we are in this together” and that we must “get through this”.

Andrew concluded ad nauseam: ‘Otherwise stay in close contact and we’ll play some more soon!!!’ A knight of the Order of the Garter, he was signed ‘A, HRH The Duke of York, KG’.

It has also been revealed that Andrew met with the alleged Chinese spy at the center of the current Whitehall spy case on at least three occasions.

Sources told the Daily Mail that things came to a head this week after ‘constant new allegations’ of MoS email disclosures proving to be ‘the major problem’.

The changes will come into force immediately and have been decided taking into account the fact that the prince’s personal problems remain an ‘unwelcome distraction’ from the affairs of the wider Royal Family.

King Charles III is said to be ‘delighted’ to see his brother give up his titles after talks with Andrew and his son Prince William

However, the King acknowledged that he could not legally force Andrew out of his home at Royal Lodge, and that he would continue to stay there as long as he could afford the rent.

The prince has an exclusive lease with the Crown Estate for more than 100 years, which is said to be ‘unaffected’ by issues surrounding his honors and titles.

The prince’s titles are ‘suspended’ rather than stripped; effectively remaining ‘present but inactive’.

It appears that part of the king’s consideration was to avoid wasting parliamentary time by formally revoking titles. Any move to do this would require an Act of Parliament.

But Her Majesty was also keen to ‘protect’ Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who remain as Her Royal Highnesses as Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren.

If their father’s titles had been removed, theirs would also have been affected, and Charles was determined to avoid this, as he regarded them with ‘great respect and affection’.

‘He wouldn’t want to sign anything that would affect them,’ a source said.

According to the Letters Patent (an expression of a monarch’s written wishes) issued by George V in 1917 and updated by Queen Elizabeth in 2012, Andrew was a member of Queen Elizabeth II. He remains a prince because he is Elizabeth’s son.

A source confirmed: ‘The title of duke will not be used and will not be considered a ‘renunciation’.

‘HRH title is already inactive. ‘The prince’s other titles and honors now join him.’

Notably, Andrew remains formally Counsel of State: ‘under limited and defined circumstances’ to act on behalf of the King in the event he becomes incapacitated or is abroad. Prince Harry is one of those who could theoretically take action in such situations.

However, sources emphasized that it had already been made clear through Parliament in 2022 that non-working members of the Royal Family would not be called to serve in this capacity, so the position is out of action again and it is not worth devoting parliamentary time to a change.

Sources also confirmed that Andrew will not be joining the Royal Family again for Christmas at Sandringham, despite his daughters being welcomed, as previously revealed by the Mail.

A royal source told the Mail: ‘There is a sense of relief that this is over.’