Prince Andrew Will Lose ‘Prince’ Title

Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that Prince Andrew is dropping the title of “prince.”

“His Royal Highness has today begun a formal process to remove Prince Andrew’s Order, Titles and Honors,” the palace said in a statement. The statement was included.

Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

“To date, his tenancy at the Royal Lodge has provided him with legal protection to continue his residence,” the Palace said of Andrew’s current residence, which he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. “Formal notice has been given to abandon the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary even though he continues to deny the allegations against him.”

“Her Majesty wishes to make it clear that her thoughts and utmost sympathies are with the victims and survivors of all forms of abuse and remain with them.”

Earlier this month, the royal renounced the title of Duke of York and other honors after more allegations emerged about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.

“In discussions with the King and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded that the ongoing allegations against me are a distraction from the work of Her Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew said in a statement at the time.

“As always, I decided to put my duty to my family and my country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stay away from public life.”

Andrew previously stepped back from royal duties for the “foreseeable future” after volunteering for a disastrous and now infamous interview with BBC “Newsnight” in 2019.

The prince has tried to distance himself from his friend Epstein, saying he had never met Virginia Giuffre, who accused the royal in 2001 of sexually assaulting and harassing her when she was a child.

Giuffre, who died by suicide in 2025, filed a lawsuit civil lawsuit Against the royal family under the Child Victims Act in August 2021. The lawsuit alleged Andrew sexually assaulted Giuffre three times and was later settled out of court.

After the lawsuit was filed, Andrew’s military connections and royal patronages were officially revoked by Buckingham Palace.

“The Duke of York will continue not to hold any public office and will defend this case as an ordinary citizen,” the palace said in a statement at the time.

While the move to strip Andrew of the title of “prince” is monumental by royal family standards, some, such as Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, say it is “not enough”.

“This is a man accused of sexual assault and corruption. He should be questioned and investigated by the police. This is about justice, not titles,” Smith said in a statement Friday.

“He is also being moved from the Royal Lodge to a similarly luxurious estate in Sandringham. What kind of punishment is moving from one estate to another?” Smith asked. “This is an insult to victims of sexual abuse and an insult to the public. More needs to be done.”