LONDON – He will no longer call himself a duke, but that’s not enough for many of Prince Andrew’s critics.
Buckingham Palace and the British government were under pressure on Monday to formally strip Prince Andrew of his princely title and palatial home following new revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After discussions with his older brother, King Charles III, Andrew agreed on Friday to stop using titles including the Duke of York. It was the latest effort to insulate the monarchy from years of splashy headlines about Andrew’s shady business deals, inappropriate behavior and controversial friendships.
But he still technically holds the title of duke given to him by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. As the son of a king, he is still a prince.
Andrew’s statement relinquishing some of his royal titles came after emails emerged showing he had kept in touch with Epstein for longer than he had previously admitted, and days before the publication of a posthumous memoir by Epstein’s accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 years old.
Skye Roberts, Joffrey’s brother, urged the king to go further and “remove the title of prince as well.”
“He shouldn’t be able to call himself that,” Roberts told The Times of London.
Civil suit
Andrew, 65, has long denied Giuffre’s claims, but resigned from his royal duties after a disastrous interview with the BBC in November 2019 in which he tried to refute her claims.
Many viewers saw an entitled prince who failed to show compassion for Epstein’s victims and offered unbelievable explanations for his friendship with the late sex offender.
Andrew paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York.
While he did not admit to any wrongdoing, he did acknowledge Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
“Angry and terrified”
Some opposition politicians said Andrew should be formally stripped of his dukedom through an Act of Parliament.
Stephen Flynn, a Scottish National Party MP, said the government should use legislation to remove titles from both Andrew and Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords who was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to Washington last September due to his past friendship with Epstein.
“Virginia Giuffre’s family, whose lives were destroyed, are angry and horrified,” Flynn said. “The public in these islands are angry and terrified, and they both deserve to know that some (members of parliament) share their anger.”
The government said it supported the palace’s decision on Andrew’s titles, but it should not act unilaterally. Under the constitutional monarchy in the United Kingdom, the Crown does not interfere in politics and politicians stay away from issues related to the royal family.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told the BBC: “Our thoughts must be with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, those who suffered and continue to suffer because of the abuse they suffered at his hands, but these are matters for the royal family.”
Some also want Andrew kicked out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lives alongside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who will no longer be known as the Duchess of York.
Questions have been raised about how Andrew will pay for the house, which he rents on a long lease from the Crown Estate, a group of properties nominally owned by the monarch, but which he does not control.
The royals are preparing for more discoveries
The palace is preparing for more embarrassing revelations, as the king prepares for a state visit to the Vatican this week where he is scheduled to pray alongside Pope Leo XIV.
Giuffre’s book, “Nobody’s Girl,” is published on Tuesday and details three alleged sexual encounters with Andrew. She died by suicide in April at the age of 41.
In a previously published excerpt, Giuffre says the prince acted as if he believed “having sex with me was his birthright.”
Giuffre also claims in the book that Andrew’s team tried to “hire internet trolls to harass me.” She said Andrew insisted that the lawsuit settlement include a one-year gag order to prevent allegations from tarnishing the late Queen’s platinum jubilee in 2022.
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police force says it is “actively looking into” media reports that in 2011 Andrew sought information to discredit Giuffre by asking one of his police bodyguards to know if she had a criminal record.
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