King Charles is said to be pleased after Prince Andrew announced he will no longer use his royal titles and honors.
Andrew, 65, made the announcement on October 17 in a statement from Buckingham Palace. He said that after talking with the King and other family members, they agreed that the continued accusations against him were distracting from the work of the royal family. He added that he wanted to put his duty to his family and country first.
Andrew also said he still supports his decision from five years ago to step away from public life. With King Charles’ approval, he decided to go further and stop using his title and honors. He also repeated that he strongly denies the accusations against him.
Reports say King Charles, 76, was consulted about the decision and is happy with the outcome. Earlier that day, a royal source told The Times that the King had been considering removing Andrew’s titles but hoped his brother would choose to give them up voluntarily.
Prince Andrew will give up his title as the Duke of York, which was given to him by Queen Elizabeth when he married in 1986. However, he will still be known as a prince because he is the son of the late Queen, under royal rules set in 1917 and updated in 2012. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will continue using her professional name and will not use her Duchess of York title anymore. Their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will not be affected.
The decision comes after years of scandals involving Prince Andrew. King Charles was reportedly angry about Andrew’s alleged involvement in a Chinese spy scandal, and Andrew continues to face scrutiny for his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 after a controversial BBC interview about his relationship with Epstein. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages after he tried to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers. Andrew denied wrongdoing but settled the case privately that same year.
