A Northern Ireland council has agreed to rename a street called Prince Andrew Way after the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Mid and East Antrim council decided on Monday to start the “long overdue” process of removing the street’s association with the disgraced royal. It was named Prince Andrew Way in 1986 to mark his wedding to Sarah Ferguson but there were calls to rename it after the stripping of Mountbatten-Windsor’s royal titles last month.
Councillors unanimously backed a motion from the Alliance party to give a new name to the stretch of shops and businesses in Carrickfergus.
“This is a sad but necessary motion,” said Anna Henry, of the Traditional Unionist Voice party. “Regrettably the alleged actions of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have made it impossible for this council to continue honouring him in the manner the good people of Mid and East Antrim have done in the past.”
Montbatten-Windsor’s friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations of sexual assault against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, prompted King Charles to remove his titles and honours. The former prince denied Giuffre’s allegations.
Unionist parties and Sinn Féin backed the motion by Lauren Gray, an Alliance councillor. “With the level of public comment locally, it would seem we are long overdue in looking at what it would take to make this change,” said Gray. She said the street should retain its link to the royal family and suggested it be named after Queen Elizabeth II.
The council’s interim chief executive, Valerie Watts, said changing a street’s name was not straightforward. “Residents absolutely need to be consulted because it can have far-reaching implications for them, such as changing your address for your bank account, credit cards, driver’s licence, utility bills etc. However, it can be done and council do have the power to change street names.”
There are calls to rename other roads named after the former prince. Residents living on Prince Andrew Road and the adjoining Prince Andrew Close in Maidenhead, England, have asked for their addresses to be renamed. “If you’re ordering something or tell someone where you live there’s always raised eyebrows,” Andrew Kirk, a Prince Andrew Road resident, told the Maidenhead Advertiser.
