UK royals and government face pressure to formally strip Prince Andrew
of his titles
[October 21, 2025]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — He won’t call himself a duke anymore, but that is not
enough for many of Prince Andrew’s critics.
Buckingham Palace and the British government were under pressure Monday
to formally strip Prince Andrew of his princely title and sumptuous home
after new revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein.
After discussions with his elder brother King Charles III, Andrew agreed
on Friday to stop using titles including Duke of York. It was the latest
effort to insulate the monarchy from years of tawdry headlines about
Andrew’s suspicious business deals, inappropriate behavior and
controversial friendships.
But he still technically holds the title of duke, bestowed by his late
mother, Queen Elizabeth II. And as the son of a monarch, he remains a
prince.
Andrew’s statement relinquishing some of his royal titles came after
emails emerged showing he had remained in contact with Epstein longer
than he previously admitted, and days before publication of a posthumous
memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged she had
sex with Andrew when she was 17.
Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, urged the king to go further and "remove
the title of prince, too.
"He shouldn’t be able to call himself one,” Roberts told The Times of
London newspaper.
Civil suit
Andrew, 65, has long denied Giuffre’s claims, but stepped down from
royal duties after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he
attempted to rebut her allegations.
Many viewers saw an entitled prince who failed to show empathy for
Epstein’s victims and offered unbelievable explanations for his
friendship with the late sex offender.
Andrew paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre
filed a civil suit against him in New York.
While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as
a victim of sex trafficking.
'Angry and aghast'
Some opposition politicians said Andrew should formally be stripped of
his dukedom through an act of Parliament.
Scottish National Party lawmaker Stephen Flynn said the government
should use legislation to remove titles from both Andrew and Peter
Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords who was fired as British
ambassador to Washington in September over his past friendship with
Epstein.
“The family of Virginia Giuffre, whose life was destroyed, are angry and
aghast,” Flynn said. “The public across these isles are angry and aghast
and they both deserve to know that some (members of Parliament) share
their outrage.”
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Britain's Prince Andrew looks on during an event at the
residence of the British Ambassador in New Delhi, India, March 10,
2010. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
The government said it supported the palace’s decision over Andrew’s
titles but should not act unilaterally. Under the U.K.’s
constitutional monarchy, the crown does not interfere in politics
and politicians stay clear of issues related to the royal family.
“Our thoughts have to be with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, those
who suffered and continue to suffer because of the abuse that they
experienced at his hands, but these are matters for the royal
family,” Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told the BBC.
Some also want Andrew evicted from Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion
near Windsor Castle where he lives alongside his ex-wife Sarah
Ferguson, who will no longer be known as the Duchess of York.
Questions have been raised about how Andrew pays for the house,
which he rents on a long lease from the Crown Estate, a portfolio of
properties that is nominally owned, but not controlled, by the
monarch.
Royals brace for more revelations
The palace is bracing for more embarrassing revelations, just as the
king prepares for a state visit to the Vatican this week where he is
due to pray beside Pope Leo XIV.
Giuffre’s book, “Nobody’s Girl,” is published on Tuesday and details
three alleged sexual encounters with Andrew. She died by suicide in
April at the age of 41.
In an extract published in advance, Giuffre says the prince acted as
if he believed “having sex with me was his birthright.”
Giuffre also claims in the book that Andrew’s team tried “to hire
internet trolls to hassle me.” She said that Andrew insisted the
lawsuit settlement include a one-year gag order to prevent
allegations from tarnishing the late queen’s Platinum Jubilee in
2022.
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police force says it is “actively
looking into” media reports that Andrew in 2011 sought information
to smear Giuffre by asking one of his police bodyguards to find out
whether she had a criminal record.
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