Prince Andrew has given up his royal titles in light of the sexual assault accusation made against him and his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, but what will happen to them?
Following a conversation with UK monarch King Charles, Andrew announced yesterday (October 17) that he would no longer use his Duke of York title.
He'll also lose his knighthood as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) and his Garter role as a Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.
He will retain his dukedom as it can only be removed via an Act of Parliament, but he will no longer use the title. He will also remain a prince.
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This comes after years of scrutiny over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and sexual assault allegations from Virginia Giuffre, whose family has since spoken out saying Andrew losing his titles is a 'vindication'.
The royal settled Giuffre's 2021 lawsuit against him out of court for an undisclosed sum and did not admit any wrongdoing.
As part of this agreement with the King, the BBC reports that his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, will be stripped of her title as The Duchess of York. However, their daughters will continue to be known as princesses.
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This deal also does not impact his line of succession, meaning Andrew will still be eighth in line to the throne.
In a statement, he said: "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 honors which have been conferred upon me.
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"As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."
According to royal expert Sharon Carpenter, the move is ‘largely symbolic’ for now.
“At this point it is highly doubtful we will see him publicly with any senior member of the royal family for the foreseeable future,” she told E! News.
As for what will happen to his titles, she gave insights into that too.
Will another royal inherit Prince Andrew's titles?
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She went on to reveal that it’s possible that someone may inherit his titles in the future, however, she noted that dukedom has a male-only line of succession.
Because Andrew has two daughters, neither would be able to inherit his now-former titles.
If he was to have a son, he would be able to pick up such titles from his father.
It's also worth pointing out he hasn't been legally stripped of his dukedom, as this would require an act of parliament and MPs would need to vote it through.
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That, Carpenter says, would be 'more complex than this immediate action' of Andrew agreeing to stop using the Duke of York title.
Why has Prince Andrew been stripped of his titles now?
This move came just before the publication of a memoir by the late Virginia Giuffre, who was embroiled in a civil sexual assault case with the prince before it was settled.
Giuffre died by suicide in April this year at 41, weeks after her book, Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice was due to be released.
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In the book, Giuffre claimed to have met Prince Andrew in March 2001 and the pair dined and partied before returning to Ghislaine Maxwell's home.
She went on to allege that she was pressured to 'do for him what you do for Jeffrey' by Maxwell, before Maxwell praised her.
"The next morning, Maxwell told me: ‘You did well. The prince had fun,’" Giuffre wrote, and claimed Epstein gave her $15,000 at a later date.
Prince Andrew denies Giuffre’s allegations.
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UNILAD has previously reached out to Prince Andrew's representatives and Buckingham Palace for comment.
Topics: Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Royal Family, UK News, Virginia Giuffre
Britt Jones