Following mounting pressure and scrutiny over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein in recent weeks, Prince Andrew confirmed on 17th October that he will no longer be using his Duke of York title and various other honours. He is also giving up his membership to the Order of the Garter after it was concluded that "the continued accusations" against him were distracting from the King and Royal Family's work.
Prince Andrew said he continued to "vigorously deny" these allegations and the recent decision to relinquish the use of his title came after a "discussion" with King Charles and his "immediate and wider family". This reportedly included Prince William and it's now been suggested that he is far from "satisfied" with his uncle's statement.
According to The Sunday Times, when he becomes King in the future William could be "more ruthless" with how he handles things with Andrew and his aunt Sarah Ferguson too. Whilst it was revealed that Prince William was "consulted" on the recent decision, the publication reports that "it's understood that he is not satisfied with the outcome".
They alleged that he "knows the 'Andrew problem' will be in his in-tray at some point" and that when the Prince of Wales becomes King his uncle "will be banned from all elements of royal life". This could reportedly include him being excluded from "public and private royal events, including the coronation" and "most state occasions too".
And it might not only be Prince Andrew who faces this fate, as The Sunday Times added that it's thought that Prince William "will also ban Ferguson" from royal events.
In 2019 following his disastrous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, Prince Andrew stepped back as a working royal and in 2022 he stopped using his HRH title. Since then he's kept a relatively low profile, but he has joined the royals for family occasions such as some Christmases at Sandringham House, Easters at Windsor Castle and, of course, his parents' funerals in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Prince Andrew also attended King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation in 2023 wearing the full ceremonial regalia of the Order of the Garter - the oldest and most senior chivalric order in Britain - to which he no longer belongs.
Excluding his uncle from his coronation would be a huge statement from Prince William about where he stands on the "Andrew problem". If he does take this "ruthless" approach as monarch then it's unlikely Prince Andrew will be seen in public except on rare occasions, such as family funerals or weddings.
Even now, he's seldom seen and his attempts to make conversation with a reluctant-looking Prince William outside Westminster Cathedral at the Duchess of Kent's funeral last month attracted a lot of attention.
Neither Prince Andrew nor his former wife are expected to celebrate the festive season in Norfolk with the rest of the Royal Family this year. Following the recent announcement Sarah will no longer be known as the Duchess of York but simply Sarah Ferguson, though the couple's daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, have retained their titles.
