The brother of The King will no longer have a royal title and
instead will take a new name.
Prince Andrew is losing all his titles with Buckingham Palace
making the announcement that King Charles is axing his younger
brother’s royal style for good.
Instead, the Palace confirmed that the eighth in line to the
throne will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Palace said ”His Majesty has today initiated a formal
process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince
Andrew.”
It continued ”Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew
Mountbatten Windsor.”
The surname was created in 1960 for descendants of Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. It combines Prince Philip’s family
name of Mountbatten with the dynastic name of Queen Elizabeth II’s
house.
When it was created, Queen Elizabeth II declared ”my
descendants other than descendants enjoying the style, title or
attribute of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or
Princess and female descendants who marry and their descendants
shall bear the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.”
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s second son was born in the same
year and was immediately HRH The Prince Andrew. He became Duke of
York in 1986 on his marriage when he also received the titles of
Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. In 2022, he gave up use of
his HRH after settling a court case with Virginia Giuffre without
admitting responsibility.
Virginia Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. Her
posthumous memoir was published last week in which she said she was
forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was seventeen
years old.
He has always denied that. However, in its statement, Buckingham
Palace said ”These censures are deemed necessary,
notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations
against him. 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.”
Queen Camilla is a long time advocate for women who have been
sexually assaulted and has even helped develop care kits for those
being supported by emergency services after escaping domestic
violence and sexual assault.
The new name of the eighth in line to the throne takes immediate
effect even though the formal processes to remove all his titles
and honours is not yet complete.
It had previously been thought that an Act of Parliament would
be needed to remove the titles. However, it is understood that The
King is to send Royal Warrants to the Lord Chancellor to secure the
removal of the Dukedom of York from the Peerage Roll. The same will
apply to the HRH, Prince and the Earldom of Inverness and Andrew’s
other former title of Baron Killyleagh.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor said earlier this month that he would
no longer use the title of Duke of York which he was given by Queen
Elizabeth II on his wedding day in 1986. However, he still formally
owned it. Now, it will be taken from him permanently.
His ex-wife also gave up her courtesy title and is now known as
Sarah Ferguson. Their two daughters remain HRH Princess Beatrice
and HRH Princess Eugenie.
The Buckingham Palace statement also said that Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor is moving from Royal Lodge, the thirty room
home on the Windsor estate he has lived in since 2003. It was
recently revealed he pays no monetary rent on it. Instead, he will
stay at a private home on the Sandringham estate.
