Prince Andrew will no longer be known as a "prince" and has been ordered to leave the royal lodge, Buckingham Palace says.
The formal process to remove Andrew's titles began today, and he will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor with immediate effect.
Prince Andrew evicted from royal residence, stripped of titles - see more on TVNZ+
"His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
"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.
A timeline of Prince Andrew's decades-long antics and scandals
"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."
He will move to a property on the private Sandringham estate, and the king will privately fund any future accommodation. His ex-wife and housemate, Sarah Ferguson, will need to make her own living arrangements. The King will still make a private provision for his brother.
The process will mean that Andrew will no longer hold the titles of Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh, or the style ‘His Royal Highness’.
He will no longer hold the titles of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.
His two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will retain their titles.
The 'Duke of York' was removed from the Peerage Roll to ensure it cannot be used officially. The King is sending Royal Warrants to the Lord Chancellor, responsible for maintaining the roll of the peerage, to secure the removal.
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The move was supported by the wider royal family, including William, the Prince of Wales, and Andrew did not object.
The palace opted not to abolish the Dukedom by act of parliament, so as not to distract elected lawmakers from urgent national issues.
Andrew has faced years of criticism over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In 2020, he was stood down from all royal duties after a disastrous interview with BBC reporter Emily Maitlis.
During the interview, Andrew defended his relationship with Epstein, failed to show empathy for his victims and offered explanations of his behaviour that many people found difficult to believe. Andrew claimed he broke off contact with Epstein in December 2010, after Epstein was convicted for the first time.
However newly revealed emails showed he had been in contact with Epstein later than that date, which then saw him give up his royal title of the Duke of York.
In 2022, he agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17. Giuffre died of suicide in April this year.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
In a statement to the BBC, Giuffre's family said 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."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including measles at a large Auckland school, Prince Andrew to lose the last of his titles, and stars back for the All Blacks. (Source: Breakfast)
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