Prince Andrew was given the prestigious title of the Duke of York, the highest rank in the British peerage, by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, but he has been forced to relinquish his titles. It comes amid the long-running fallout of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The late Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times by Epstein after she was trafficked, wrote in her upcoming memoir that Andrew acted as if sex with her was his “birthright”. Andrew announced in a statement on Friday evening via Buckingham Palace that he will “no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me”, despite denying all accusations.
His titles and honours include, The Duke of York, the Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, His Knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
As he stopped calling himself Duke of York, this also means he and will no longer use the two initials KG after his name in reference to his Garter knighthood.
Because he no longer acts as a Royal Knight of the Order of the Garter, this means Andrew will not be able to attend the traditional Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle each June.
Andrew was already banned from taking part in the procession, but carried on attending the annual service behind closed doors.
He will no longer attend the Christmas festivities at Sandringham with the wider Royal Family, which prevents him from conducting the famous walk to church on Christmas Day.
Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, remain unaffected and are still princesses but Andrew’s ex-wife will no longer use her divorcee courtesy title, Sarah, Duchess of York, and instead reverts to her maiden name, Sarah Ferguson.
Fergie was dropped by numerous charities in September when it emerged that she wrote to convicted sex offender Epstein, calling him a “supreme friend”, after publicly disowning him in the media.
Prince Andrew will retain the title of ‘Prince’ as he is the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. He stepped back from public life in 2019, he is now expected to be absent from nearly all future engagements associated with the Royal Family.