Days before the publication of a tell-all memoir from Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew – who was a close friend of the convicted sex offender – agreed to stop using all of his honorary titles.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden was among several staunch royalists who had called for King Charles to “punish” his younger brother as more “sordid details of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and accusations from the late Virginia Giuffre” emerged.
But despite claims that Andrew had “voluntarily” agreed to drop titles such as Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, Richard says the truth is significantly harsher.
“Make no mistake, this wasn’t his choice,” he says. “The King forced his hand and made his brother Andrew give them up willingly rather than dragging the problem through Parliament, which would have meant even more bad press for Andrew.”
The prince said in a statement about his titles: “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first.”
But even this move doesn’t go quite far enough, Richard says, and the royal family needs to take further steps to survive this latest scandal.
“If they hoped that [dropping the titles] would be the end of it, unfortunately they have to think again,” Richard says.
“I’m a royalist,” he adds, “but if the monarchy is to last, it needs to lead by example. If it’s continually degraded by these sorts of sordid stories, then its very future is in danger.”
As Virginia’s book Nobody’s Girl hits the shelves, he adds: “There are still many unresolved elements to this that look like they’ll rumble on unless more action is taken.”
The Metropolitan Police has issued a statement saying that the claims involving Andrew’s personal protection officers are being “looked into,” but regardless of the outcome of that inquiry, grave concerns remain about Prince Andrew’s conduct.
Andrew has not been officially stripped of his titles. To remove a dukedom would require an act of Parliament, something that has not been implemented for a senior royal in over a century. Such a historic step would draw even more unwelcome attention to the institution of the monarchy.
As it currently stands, Andrew remains a prince and is still eighth in the line of succession. He is also – at least technically – still a counsellor of state, able to stand in for the monarch if King Charles were to be overseas or unwell during a time of crisis.
Virginia Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told The Times that while his late sister had been “vindicated” by the move, as long as Andrew remains a prince, “true justice” will not have been done.