Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Prince Andrew has been formally stripped of his style, titles, and honours, following a decision personally approved by King Charles III.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the Palace said:
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.”
The announcement also confirmed that the 64-year-old will vacate Royal Lodge, his long-time residence in Windsor Great Park, and relocate to a smaller property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which will be privately funded by the King.
The statement continued:
“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.”
Buckingham Palace added that King Charles and Queen Camilla’s sympathies remain with “victims and survivors of all forms of abuse.”
Sources close to the Palace say that Andrew did not object to the King’s decision, which was made following what were described as “serious lapses in judgement”. The UK government was consulted and reportedly expressed full support for the move.
Andrew continues to deny allegations made against him in connection with his association with Jeffrey Epstein, but his public role has been significantly reduced in recent years.
It is also understood that Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s former wife, will move out of Royal Lodge and make her own living arrangements. The pair divorced in 1996 but have continued to share the property.
Ferguson, 66, had retained the title of Duchess of York until this month, when she reverted to her maiden name following Andrew’s decision to give up the usage of the Duke of York title.
Buckingham Palace has also confirmed that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie will retain their royal titles, in accordance with King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917, which grants such titles to the children of a sovereign’s sons.