Buckingham Palace sent shockwaves across the royal-watching world on Thursday evening when it released a statement announcing that King Charles had stripped his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, of his styles, titles and honours.
Part of the statement read: "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."
However, there was one discrepancy in the statement that may have caught the eye of royal watchers – the spelling of Andrew's new surname Mountbatten Windsor. Curiously, in the statement, the double-barrel surname is not hyphenated, whereas in all other instances where the surname has been used by the royal family, it is.
When asked about the lack of hyphen, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed: "Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was the name agreed."
Mountbatten-Windsor with a hyphen
On the royal family's official website, an explanation is given as to how the surname – with a hyphen – came about. It is a combination of the late Queen Elizabeth II's surname, Windsor, and her husband Prince Philip's adopted surname, Mountbatten. Philip, who was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, became a naturalised British subject ahead of his 1947 wedding to Princess Elizabeth. He ditched his surname Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg – the family name of the Danish royal house from which his father was descended – for Mountbatten, an Anglicised version of Battenberg, his mother's family name.
The website reads: "In 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V. It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor."
The hyphen between Mountbatten and Windsor appears in an official declaration by the Queen dated 8 February 1960 in which she says: "My descendants… shall bear the name of Mountbatten-Windsor."
© KeystoneThe hyphenated surname Mountbatten-Windsor first appeared on an official document on 14 November 1973, in the marriage register at Westminster Abbey for the marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips.
Other examples of when it has been used include when the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lodged an invasion of privacy court case in France over photos taken of Kate while she was on holiday in 2012.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children were also listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor at the time of their births in 2019 and 2021, respectively, although the children have since been granted the titles of Prince and Princess following the accession to the throne of their grandfather, King Charles.
© ABC / Meghan MarkleEmily Nash's reaction to the statement
On Thursday evening, HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash shared her reaction to the news of Andrew's demotion, noting how the King was clearly "calling the shots" in his statement.
"This is the move that many had called for and the King had to act decisively in response, however difficult it may have been for him as a brother," Emily said. "It's a marked change from Andrew's statement announcing he would no longer use his Duke of York title, in which he suggested it was his decision to do so.
© Getty ImagesHELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash shares her reaction to Andrew's "remarkable fall" on The Royal Club and shares her predictions on the former Prince's next moves, including his "exile" to Sandringham, what Sarah Ferguson will do next and what will come of Andrew's place in the line of succession. Click on the link below to read now.
"The Palace had to get it right this time to restore public confidence and they have done so. The King has made clear that he is calling the shots. He's condemned his brother's 'serious lapses of judgement' and crucially, said publicly that his and the Queen's sympathies have been and remain with the victims and survivors of abuse.
"It may have taken longer than the public would have liked – there have been difficult legal and constitutional issues to consider – but the royal family will be hoping this draws a line under the latest slew of damaging headlines so they can focus on their work and the future."
