King Charles last night sensationally stripped Andrew of his Prince title and is throwing him from his home of decades – but a royal biographer has warned this is not the end of the humiliation for the disgraced ex-Duke.
Today the Monarch’s brother wakes up as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – with a police probe into his behaviour likely on the horizon.
Yesterday in a bombshell statement, Buckingham Palace confirmed the 65-year-old would no longer be a Prince – with immediate effect – and would also be leaving the 30-bed Royal Lodge nestled on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The Palace said the ‘censures [were] deemed necessary’ amid the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal – the paedophile financer who Andrew lied about cutting ties with.
It comes after the Mail on Sunday exclusively revealed scandalous correspondence where the shunned prince told Epstein ‘we are in this together’ a day after the infamous picture of the royal with his alleged then-teenage sex victim Virginia Giuffre was released.
As Andrew’s links to the disgraced financier continued to bring shame on the royals, last night he finally agreed to surrender his Windsor lease where he resided with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for over two decades, paying ‘peppercorn rent’.
And in a brutal remark sources revealed the former Duchess of York, who has also been embroiled in scandal relating to sex-offender Epstein, ‘will make her own arrangements’ when it comes to her future.
It is understood the King is in the process of sending royal warrants to the Lord Chancellor to remove his brother’s titles and honours, to which Andrew has not objected.
Andrew’s recent humiliation after being stripped of all his titles could open the door for a police probe, royal historian and author Andrew Lownie has said
Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Andrew’s former home. He will now be moving to a private residence on the monarch’s Sandringham estate
The Royal Family released a public statement announcing Andrew would no longer be a prince
Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo reportedly taken in 2001, when Giuffre was 17 years old
His Majesty’s younger brother will now be banished to a private property on the monarch’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, but no further details have been shared. It is understood Prince William and the Royal Family fully support the King’s decision.
Annie Farmer, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s earliest accusers who testified in the trial that resulted in the conviction of his long-time aide Ghislaine Maxwell, told the BBC: ‘Virginia did what most thought impossible. She showed the world that even the most powerful predators can be held accountable.’
Meanwhile Andrew’s daughters Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, will retain their titles as Her Royal Highnesses with it previously reported that Charles was was very keen to ‘protect’ his nieces.
However, royal historian and author Andrew Lownie believes the recent fallout doesn’t mark ‘the end’ of controversy for the shunned royal, now formally known as Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
‘I don’t think it’s the end of it. I think there are many more disclosures to come, but at least they’re taking some decisive action. So, I don’t think it’s all over for him,’ he told The Mirror.
When queried if he believed a police probe into Andrew was more likely following yesterday’s announcement, he remarked that the ex-duke was being ‘throw[n] under the bus’.
‘Yes, I’ve been saying for some time they’re [the Royal family] going to throw Andrew under the bus to save themselves and this is the first indication of that,’ he added
‘This should have been done years ago. I think it’s been Virginia Giuffre’s book that kind of made the Palace realise that there is a big problem here.’
Last week, the row over the Royal Lodge continued to grow amid damning revelations in a posthumous memoir from Andrew’s sex abuse accuser Giuffre, who took her own life this year, aged 41.
Ms Giuffre’s explosive book Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was released in this month, with the manuscript having been completed before she died.
Inside, she detailed her years spent as a sex slave to Epstein and his British madam Ghislaine Maxwell, amid claims she had been trafficked to the ex-duke three times, and whom she called ‘entitled’ and viewed sex as his ‘birthright‘.
Within the 400-page autobiography, she also alleged the ex-duke said ‘thank you’ in a ‘clipped British accent’ after their alleged first encounter when she was 17.
Andrew denied ever meeting Ms Giuffre. In 2022, he settled a US civil case she lodged for a reported £12million, reportedly receiving money from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to help meet the costs.
The settlement came with no admission of liability.
Yesterday, Ms Guiffre’s family spoke out after it was announced Andrew would lose his titles, proudly stating how ‘an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.’
‘Virginia Roberts Giuffre, our sister, a child when she was sexually assaulted by Andrew, never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and to countless other survivors like her.
‘Today, she declares victory.
‘We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.’
In the wake of the Giuffre scandal, Andrew is facing a private prosecution over allegations of sexual assault, corruption and misconduct in public office.
Yesterday, anti–monarchy campaign group Republic said it has instructed lawyers to investigate the prince and, if appropriate, press ahead with legal proceedings.
The Daily Mail understands the allegations it is focusing on relate to accusations he sexually assaulted Giuffre, that he asked a royal protection officer to look into her background and impropriety when he served as an official UK trade envoy.
But anti-monarchy group Republic said it is mounting its own bid to take him to court because the legal and political response to the claims has been ‘weak and inadequate’ to date.
It said it has made a ‘powerful, principled argument for justice to be done for the victims of sexual abuse, and for those who corrupt public office to be held accountable’.
‘If not us, then who?’ asked Graham Smith, the group’s CEO.
‘It’s a devastating indictment on the UK’s criminal justice system, police and politicians – not to mention the king and heir – that we must resort to a private prosecution.
‘It should be a cause for concern that so many people believe – rightly in my view – that the royals are not treated equally in law. Equality in law is a basic tenet of democracy.
‘I firmly believe there is strong enough evidence to justify a serious investigation. The authorities and politicians appear to want to look the other way, while minimising the accusations made against Andrew.
‘The truth must prevail and justice must be seen to be done.’
Last night the group tweeted that Andrew’s punishment was ‘nowhere near enough’, adding: ‘He’s lost a bunch of pointless titles and been relocated to another mansion. Dodging any actual punishment, as always.
‘He will never be an ‘ordinary person’ – ordinary people don’t get away with being accused of sexual abuse.’
A private prosecution brought by Republic would not involve a statutory prosecutor such as Crown Prosecution Service, which brings cases on behalf of the Crown.
They are commonly brought by organisations such as the RSPCA, but can be brought by private individuals.
In some cases, a party wishing to bring a private prosecution may have to seek the consent of the Government’s top legal adviser the Attorney General, or the Director of Public Prosecutions, who is the head of the CPS.
The CPS also has the right to take on a private prosecution – and even to bring it to an end if it considers the prosecution to be brought maliciously.
It is understood earlier this month the Metropolitan Police was ‘actively’ looking into the claims Andrew had asked his personal protection officer to investigate Ms Giuffre, and that he was interviewed by detectives at home last week.
A bombshell email published by the Mail on Sunday earlier this month also revealed how Andrew asked his taxpayer–funded protection officer to dig into her past, two months after the infamous photo of him with Giuffre and Maxwell came to light.
In an extraordinary message to Ed Perkins, Queen Elizabeth’s deputy press secretary, he wrote: ‘It would also seem she has a criminal record in the States. I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].’
It comes as e-mails from Andrew to Epstein emerged, where the former duke said he was ‘concerned’ about the impact this newspaper’s revelations would have on his friend after the infamous picture of the royal with Ms Giuffre was released.
He reassured the vile billionaire they would ‘rise above’ press scrutiny.
The correspondence was sent to Epstein 12 weeks after Andrew had supposedly ceased all contact with the convicted sex offender.
The leaked email provides definitive proof the Prince lied in his car-crash interview with BBC’s Newsnight when he claimed he ‘never had any contact’ with the disgraced financier after the pair were famously pictured walking together in New York’s Central Park in December 2010.
Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who has previously called for Prince Andrew to testify before a US Congressional committee about his links to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to ‘clear his name’, last night again urged Andrew to give evidence.
In a statement, he said: ‘It’s clear that Prince Andrew has information about Epstein’s crimes and he must do more than just give up titles or hide from the public spotlight.
‘He owes it to the victims to share everything he knows about Epstein’s criminal operation and come before the Oversight Committee.
‘Regardless, we will continue to pursue the files and all the evidence, no matter how rich and powerful the perpetrators involved.’
In another world exclusive the Mail on Sunday also exposed a bombshell email revealing how Andrew’s ex-wife Fergie cynically lied when she publicly disowned the vile billionaire.
It was just weeks after her public statement that she wrote him a gushing private message, describing disgraced Epstein as a ‘steadfast, generous and supreme friend’ – confessing she only distanced herself from him to save her own reputation.
Now, the former Duchess of York will be known as plain Sarah Ferguson.
The statement read: ‘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.
‘With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further.
‘I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.’
Yesterday, politicians from across the aisle supported King Charles’s decision to strip Andrew of all of his titles and Royal Lodge residence.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said His Majesty is ‘absolutely right’ to do so, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch remarked how the decision must have been ‘very difficult’ for the King.
‘It’s clear that Andrew’s position had become totally untenable, having disgraced his office and embarrassed the country,’ Sir Davey said.
‘This is an important step towards rebuilding trust in our institutions and drawing a line under this whole sorry saga.’
The Lib Democrats had urged the Government to make time for a debate on Andrew’s Royal Lodge lease in Parliament.
Meanwhile Ms Badenoch said it must have been ‘very difficult’ for the King to take the steps against his sibling.
However, she maintained it was right for the public not to tolerate sexual abuse allegations.
Andrew is set to leave his home at Royal Lodge (pictured) with his ex–wife, the former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson said to be responsible for making her own arrangements
