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What Prince Andrew will be known as after giving up his royal titles due to links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Prince Andrew has dropped several formal titles following renewed pressure over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The move comes after new documents, including flight logs and an email exchange, resurfaced this week, as well as fresh allegations in a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre. It is believed that the changes will take effect immediately.
The decision was made in consultation with King Charles and other senior royals. But what exactly will Prince Andrew be called now?
What has Virginia Giuffre accused Prince Andrew of?
Before she died in April this year, Giuffre had accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, claiming that she was trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with the prince on multiple occasions in the early 2000s.
She stated that the encounters occurred when she was 17 years old, and she had since become one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations, claiming he has no recollection of meeting her and asserting that the events described never occurred.
In 2022, a U.S. civil lawsuit was settled in which Prince Andrew did not admit to any wrongdoing but agreed to make a financial settlement. The controversy significantly impacted his public life and led to his stepping down from royal duties."
In her posthumous memoir Nobody's Girl, set to be published on Tuesday, she claimed he was "entitled" and "believed having sex with me was his birthright".
Which titles he is giving up and why
In a statement released Friday, Prince Andrew 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 honours which have been conferred upon me.
"As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."
He will stop using the Duke of York title and give up his status as Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, as well as his role as Royal Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. While technically retaining the dukedom (which requires an Act of Parliament to remove), he will not use it.
What name will he still use?
Despite stepping back from these titles, he will still be known as Prince Andrew. That status comes from being the son of Queen Elizabeth II and remains part of his identity regardless of other changes. It’s a designation that cannot be removed without extraordinary constitutional steps.
In short, even without his royal honors, Prince Andrew remains a prince.
The Giuffre family has supported the loss of Prince Andrew's titles but has called for King Charles to go further and "remove the title of Prince".