Britain’s Prince Andrew to be stripped of ‘prince’ title and evicted from royal mansion

Britain’s King Charles has started a process to strip Prince Andrew of his titles and given him notice to move out of his mansion, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.

It comes as Prince Andrew has failed to quell the scandal over his association with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The publication of a posthumous memoir, “Nobody’s Girl,” by his accuser Virginia Giuffre put a spotlight back onto the allegations against Andrew. Giuffre – who the prince claims never to have met – said in the memoir that Andrew sexually assaulted her while she was a teenager. Andrew has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

On Thursday, Buckingham Palace went further in censuring Andrew, saying in a statement: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”

“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation,” the statement continued. “These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.”

CNN understands Andrew will be moving to a property on the private Sandringham estate. Any future accommodation will be privately funded by King Charles.

It requires an Act of Parliament to formally remove Andrew’s title as Duke of York.

“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” Buckingham Palace added.

Andrew had sought to end the renewed scrutiny of his conduct by relinquishing use of his titles earlier this month. But his moves did little to stem the flow of negative headlines and sparked fresh questions about how he could pay Giuffre a reportedly multimillion-dollar settlement in a civil case in 2022 and fund his lifestyle despite not having been a working royal since 2019.

Public anger has also grown after it emerged last week that he paid $1 million for Royal Lodge, in the heart of Windsor Great Park near Windsor Castle, in 2003, and only a peppercorn rent “if demanded” each year since then, according to his lease agreement.

On Monday, the British monarch was heckled by a protester who could be heard shouting, “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?” as he visited a cathedral in northwest England.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN