At 7pm on Friday 17 October, the royal world was rocked by the shocking news that Prince Andrew would finally be giving up his titles, including the Duke of York, and honours, which include his membership of the Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain, following "discussions with the King".
The news was released via a statement by the Prince through Buckingham Palace, titled: A Statement by Prince Andrew, despite the Palace previously denying that it still acted as his press office.
In a special audio-only episode of A Right Royal Podcast, hosts Andrea Caamano and HELLO! editor Emily Nash spoke to bestselling author Andrew Lownie, who wrote Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. Andrew described the statement as a "lost opportunity" for the King.
"I think it was a lost opportunity. The statement should have come from King Charles himself - that he'd taken decisive action.
"He should have actually taken the credit for this. We had this statement from Andrew it was his decision to stand down five years ago, when of course it had been forced upon him… just absolutely ridiculous stuff that no one really believed," he said.
"They turned what could actually have been a good way of dealing with the problem into a bigger crisis than it had been before."
In the special podcast episode, Andrew goes into detail about what Prince Andrew's life in exile could look like, whether he could lose his Princely title and what would happen to his daughter if he does so, as well as how Prince Andrew could finally leave Royal Lodge.
