An awkward moment between Prince Andrew and Prince William was a sign of what was to come as Andrew today announced he was dropping all of his royal titles
Prince Andrew’s title revocation after pressure from Prince William and King Charles came after a particularly awkward moment.
Andrew can no longer style himself as Duke of York after he and The Firm decided his public scandals were distracting from the Royal Family’s work, with his titles to go into “abeyance”. He said in a statement today that the move will mean he will not “use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me”.
The news will have come as a surprise to many, but it followed a public deterioration of relations within the Royal Family laid bare by a moment with William just over a month ago.
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Andrew and Sarah Ferguson made a surprise appearance at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent in September, with the two seen warmly greeting priests ahead of the service at Westminster Cathedral. He however appeared to have been less-than-well received by his nephew, the Prince of Wales.
William did not respond to comments made by his uncle, who stood by his side on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, staring straight ahead and barely acknowledging Andrew’s presence.
The Prince of Wales is understood to have pressed Andrew to relinquish his titles, as had the King, before the announcement earlier this evening. But Andrew said in his statement that the decision was his own, and one that he came to following a “discussion” with the monarch.
He said: “In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.
“I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.” The decision to remove his titles comes after Prince Andrew’s continued presence in UK headlines, namely due to his previous association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew was accused of having sex with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, who claimed she was just 17 when she was paid £15,000 to have sex with the royal.
Andrew, who had always denied the allegations, reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022 worth £12million to halt a civil trial with Giuffre taking place. The settlement did not include an admission of guilt.
Andrew recently hit headlines when it was alleged that he had continued to communicate with Epstein after claiming to have cut contact with the disgraced financier.
The prince had told BBC Newsnight that he had ceased contact with Epstein in December 2010, but an alleged email purportedly showed their continued contact into 2011.