Prince Andrew has agreed to give up all of his titles, including the Duke of York, he has confirmed. And although he will remain a prince, as son of Elizabeth II, he will also give up his membership of the Order of the Garter – the most senior order of chivalry in the British honours system. His ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, will also give up her title and revert to her maiden name, Sarah Ferguson.
The King is understood to be glad about the outcome after his brother's personal difficulties threatened to damage the royal family's reputation. Sarah, who has used her maiden name professionally over the years, while continuing to use the courtesy title of Duchess of York since her divorce, is said by a source to be comfortable with the decision. "She will always support her former husband's decisions and do anything for the King. For her this will not make a big difference." The Prince of Wales, who is thought to have wanted his father to take a firmer line with his uncle, was consulted on the decision, along with other members of the family.
In a statement shared by Buckingham Palace tonight, the Prince said: "In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family. I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."
© Getty ImagesAndrew will no longer attend Christmas celebrations with the royal family, but the development will not affect his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The move comes amid a string of scandals over Prince Andrew's links to both the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and an alleged Chinese spy. As the stories continued to overshadow the work of the royal family, the King had been said to be “considering all options” to strip his younger brother of his titles before Andrew agreed to voluntarily relinquish them.
Recent scandals
The final straw came this week as courtiers reached "tipping point" over revelations that Andrew had held at least three meetings with Cai Qi – a Chinese official at the centre of a Beijing spy case. Days earlier leaked emails revealed he had stayed in touch with Jeffrey Epstein for longer than he has previously admitted, even telling him, "It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!"
Meanwhile a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she had sex with the Prince, has been serialized in a British newspaper.
The former Duke of York has also been under pressure to give up Royal Lodge, the 30-room Windsor mansion he still shares with his former wife, but he has a private long term lease on the property with the Crown Estate which is not affected by his loss of titles. Andrew, who remains eighth in line to the throne, stepped back from public life in 2019 after a disastrous Newsnight interview about his relationship with Epstein.
At the time, his HRH styling was also removed and his role as a Counsellor of State became redundant, as this is only actively held by senior working members of the Royal Family. But in recent years he has been seen at family events, attending church at Easter and Christmas, and last month, standing alongside senior royals outside Westminster Cathedral, following the funeral of the Duchess of Kent.
