British royal Prince Andrew faces further humiliation after his brother, King Charles, announced he will strip him of his royal title and force him to leave the Windsor Estate.
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” the statement from Buckingham Palace reads.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement continues.
Andrew has faced major backlash following his close ties with late billionaire financier, Jeffrey Epstein. After a 2011 photo showing Prince Andrew with his arm around then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who later accused him of sexual assault, he claimed to have cut ties with Epstein, but this was proven not to be true.
Earlier this month, an email dated February 28, 2011, shows the Duke of York telling Epstein, “We are in this together. I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” the royal allegedly wrote.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges concerning underage girls. His former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year sentence for aiding him in recruiting and abusing minors.
Buckingham Palace’s statement concludes, “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”