Andrew remains Duke of York, but Government says ‘no need’ to legislate
The King officially stripped his brother of his HRH style and prince title earlier this month, amid growing controversy over Andrew’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein
The Government has said there is “no need” to legislate to remove titles from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor despite him remaining by law the Duke of York.
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The disgraced former royal continuing to hold the peerage is set to fuel demand for steps to be taken in Parliament to deprive him of the rank.
Following a bombshell announcement on October 30, the King officially stripped his brother of his HRH style and prince title earlier this month, amid growing controversy over Andrew’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The monarch also confirmed the removal of Andrew from the Roll of the Peerage as the Duke of York.
However, according to an expert Commons research briefing, his exclusion from the list only means he cannot be referred to by the title in official documents and does not scratch the peerage itself.
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Ministers have already acknowledged that removing the honour, handed to Andrew upon his marriage to Sarah Ferguson in July 1986, would require an Act of Parliament
The Government has been pressed at Westminster whether it would bring in legislation to give effect to the King’s decision to remove all titles from Andrew.
Responding to a written question by Labour peer Viscount Stansgate, son of the late left-wing firebrand Tony Benn, Labour frontbencher Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said: “Following the statement made by Buckingham Palace on October 30, the entitlement to the title of ‘Prince’ and the style of ‘Royal Highness’ has been removed by Letters Patent.
“The title of the Duke of York has been removed from the Roll of the Peerage and will no longer be used officially.
“There is therefore no need for legislation to implement the measures that have been announced.”
Andrew was banished from the monarchy and demoted to a commoner by the King because of his “serious lapses of judgment” over his association with convicted sex offender Epstein.
He is set to move from the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park some time in the new year to the King’s private Sandringham estate as part of his internal exile.
Buckingham Palace will hope the action taken draws a line under the scandal that has dogged Andrew.
But questions remain over allegations by the late Virginia Giuffre that she was sexually abused as a teenager by the former prince.
Andrew paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with her in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.
The Metropolitan Police is also looking into claims Andrew passed Ms Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate.