After weeks of growing pressure on Buckingham Palace to strip Prince Andrew of his titles and force him to leave his Windsor residence, the King began a formal process on Thursday to do just that.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday evening that formal notice had been served on Andrew to surrender the lease on Royal Lodge, where he has lived for more than 20 years.
Andrew’s links with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein have continued to cause controversy, particularly in the wake of the posthumous publication of a memoir written by his main accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April this year.
It is understood that although Andrew denies the accusations, Buckingham Palace considers there to have been “serious lapses of judgement”. There has also reportedly been concern for the wellbeing and welfare of other members of the family.
Which titles and honours are affected?
The Prince’s titles of Prince, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh are affected, along with the style His Royal Highness. The honours of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order will also be removed.
What will his new name be and when will it come into effect?
He will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor with immediate effect.
Charles made the decision, it is understood, with the support of the wider family, including his elder son, the Prince of Wales. Andrew has not objected.
Where does the name Mountbatten Windsor come from?
King Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria, belonged to the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was the family name of his German father Prince Albert, but in 1917 King George V decided to adopt Windsor as the family’s surname because of anti-German sentiment that had arisen during the First World War.
The royal family name of Windsor was confirmed by Queen Elizabeth II after her accession in 1952, but eight years later, the Queen and her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, decided they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the family by a different surname.
It was therefore declared that Queen Elizabeth II’s descendants, other than those with the style His/Her Royal Highness and the title of prince or princess, or female descendants who married, would carry the name Mountbatten Windsor.
Mountbatten was Prince Philip’s surname and is an Anglicised version of Battenberg, his mother’s family name.
How does this differ from the previous announcement about Andrew’s titles?
Andrew agreed to stop using his remaining titles and honours on 17 October, but the formal removal process has now been instigated, which ensures that his former titles cannot be used officially.
Why has this happened now?
It is understood that Buckingham Palace needed time, along with legal and constitutional expertise, to enact the formal removal of Andrew’s titles. The government was consulted and royal warrants will be sent to the lord chancellor, David Lammy, to finalise the removal of Andrew’s peerage, the Dukedom of York.
Dukedoms can be abolished through parliament, but it is understood that Buckingham Palace hoped to remove the peerage without taking up parliamentary time.
When will Andrew move, and where to?
It is understood that Andrew will move to a property on the Sandringham estate, which will be funded privately by the King, “as soon as practicable”.
How are Andrew’s family affected?
His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also move out of Royal Lodge and will make her own living arrangements. As daughters of the son of a sovereign, Andrew’s children will retain their titles of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
