There may have been calls for disgraced Prince Andrew to lose his remaining royal titles – but royal expert Jennie Bond doesn’t believe it will happen
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After a flood of new lurid claims about Prince Andrew were revealed in a bombshell book, the disgraced Duke of York has faced calls for his titles to be stripped.
Research has found that the majority of the public would back the removal of his York dukedom, as well as his princely title. It comes after the biography called Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Yorks’ by Andrew Lownie, which finally hit shelves this week, delved into the private life of the late Queen’s son, depicting him as sex obsessed, a “useful idiot” and easy prey for Jeffrey Epstein.
For his titles to be removed, legislation would be required for Parliament to prevent Andrew from continuing as the Duke of York. At the same time, his birthright to be a prince, as the son of a monarch, could be changed if a Letters Patent were issued by the King.
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But even though Jennie Bond believes Andrew has damaged the monarchy’s reputation, she doubts his titles will be taken. The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror: “He has already been sacked by his mother, stripped of his military appointments and banned from using his HRH in any official capacity.
“His brother, the King, has cut off his allowance and his security costs and wants him out of Royal Lodge. You could argue that he has already paid a hefty price. But opinion polls continue to show that he is deeply disliked, and the public wants to see him squirm.
“I’m not sure that taking his Dukedom away would serve any great purpose, other than making the King look particularly vindictive, and causing Parliament to spend time on an issue that doesn’t affect the rest of us: MPs surely have better things to do?”
Andrew stepped away from public duties in 2019 amid the furore over his friendship with Epstein following his Newsnight interview and stopped using His Royal Highness.
But despite no longer being a working royal, he has appeared at family events. Just earlier this year, he joined the King and several other senior royals for their traditional Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
So, is there any way Andrew could somehow claw himself back into public acceptance? For Jennie, this time has long gone.
She added: “His best course of action is to lie low, enjoy the immensely privileged lifestyle he still has, embrace his family life, and do as his brother asks.
“If he is still invited to family gatherings, he would do well to forego the protocol of walking in order of precedence and fade quietly into the background. In other words: show a bit of humility, Andrew, because we haven’t seen a shred of it yet.
“For his two daughters, this latest slew of lurid allegations must be hard to take. They have done nothing wrong and are popular with the rest of the family — and with much of the public.”