I swear, the Windsors really have to stop with these late Friday news dumps. When I left my house this afternoon, there were several increasingly urgent stories about Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Last weekend, Andrew’s 2011 email to Jeffrey Epstein was published by the Daily Mail – that email proved that Andrew lied about when he broke off contact with Epstein, and the email also suggested that Andrew and Epstein planned to continue seeing each other and abusing women and girls together. Throughout the past week, the fallout has been limited to palace sources openly dithering about what to do next, all while emphasizing that they believed dealing with Prince Harry was a “greater priority” for the Firm. Well, I was wrong – I thought nothing would come out of this latest round of dithering about Andrew. But something happened. Andrew is now giving up all of his titles and honors.
Prince Andrew is discontinuing the use of his royal titles and honors.
In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Friday, Oct. 17, Prince Andrew said he will no longer use his title or honors as it distracts from the work of King Charles and the royal family.
Andrew, 65, said in the statement, “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,” he continued. “As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
To officially strip Prince Andrew’s titles, it would require an act of parliament.
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use her Duchess of York title. She has long gone by Sarah Ferguson professionally and will now use that name in all areas of her life, PEOPLE understands. The former couple will also continue to reside at their residence, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor Castle estate, as Andrew has a private tenancy agreement with The Crown Estate, which is unaffected by issues relating to his titles.
PEOPLE also understands that Andrew will not attend any of the royal family’s Christmas celebrations.
The former couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will not have their titles affected by this decision.
Prince Andrew has been styled as “His Royal Highness” since birth. Upon his marriage to Sarah Ferguson in 1986, his mother, Queen Elizabeth, gave him the titles of Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. The Duke of York is the traditional title for the sovereign’s second son, and the elite peerage has a rich royal history. According to British etiquette expert Debrett’s, the dukedom has been traditionally conferred upon the second son of the monarch since Edward IV in 1474. Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, was also known as the Duke of York prior to the shocking abdication of his elder brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936.
The Royal Lodge thing is interesting, almost as if that was part of the agreement – Andrew gave up his titles and honors, in exchange for keeping his lease on Royal Lodge. I’ve got to wonder if Charles threw in a few more perks to sweeten the deal, like Andrew will still be allowed to host shooting parties on privately-owned royal property (Windsor, Sandringham, Balmoral). It’s also interesting that Sarah is officially giving up her Duchess of York title too, although people already went back to using her maiden name anyway. Whew… well, it had to be done. And a lot more should be done as well, including Andrew agreeing to be interviewed in the long-running criminal investigations in the UK and America. Also: should we call him Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor now?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
