King Charles III on Thursday initiated a formal process to remove the “Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
“His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence,” according to the statement. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease, and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
The palace said the censures “are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”
Andrew announced Oct. 17 that he was relinquishing his Duke of York title after the publication of an unauthorized biography by British author Andrew Lownie, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” in August.
The former prince also had ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who Charles was questioned about during his visit to a cathedral Monday.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the palace wrote in the statement.
Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre had sued Andrew, claiming she was forced to have sex with him three times, including when she was 17 years old. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
In a memoir “Nobody’s Girl,” published this month after her death, Giuffre repeated her claims against Andrew.
Andrew settled with Giuffre out of court for millions in 2022 without acknowledging any wrongdoing.
Her family told Fox News Digital in a statement: “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and to countless other survivors like her. Today, she declares victory.
“We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Andrew has held his title of prince since he was born the second-youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II in 1960. He was also once recognized as her favorite son.
The former prince will now move to a property on the royal family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, BBC News reported.
Sandringham is owned by the monarch as a private residence rather than the crown. The Royal Lodge is owned by the Crown Estate. Andrew had a 75-year lease for the property.
His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who has already lost her title of Duchess of York, will also be leaving the Royal Lodge and plans to make her own arrangements for where to live, the BBC reported.
Their children, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, will keep their titles.
Sandringham will keep him “out of the public eye” and in a sort of “exile,” author Anna Pasternak told the BBC following the news.
Andrew first stepped back as a senior royal in 2019 following his infamous interview with BBC’s “Newsnight,” in which he attempted to explain his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
During the interview, Andrew raised eyebrows when he said Epstein had behaved “in a manner unbecoming.” The interviewer reminded him that Epstein was a “sex offender.”
“I’m sorry,” Andrew replied. “I’m being polite. I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender.”
