Andrew retains City of London freedom as his list of honours continues to dwindle

The former prince received the Freedom of the City of London in 2012 after inheriting it "by virtue of patrimony", due to his father Prince Phillip having been a Freeman.

The City of London Corporation said it had considered the rules dictating how a Freedom is given "and the circumstances in which, and procedure by which, it can be removed".

In an update, a spokesperson for the corporation confirmed the historic honour cannot be taken back and that the former prince would therefore retain the honour.

The corporation said: "Applications via patrimony are not considered by our elected members.

"We have carefully considered whether it is possible to remove a Freedom granted by patrimony and understand that we are not able to do so."

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The Freedom, which allows its recipients to walk sheep over London Bridge, was first established in 1237.

Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela are among the historic figures to have received the honour.

Though the honour is largely ceremonial now, the Freedom is still awarded on a regular basis.

More recent recipients include Sir Lenny Henry and Ed Sheeran.

The former prince was stripped of all military titles and royal patronages in 2022.

Mountbatten-Windsor was then stripped of his royal titles by King Charles last year after more details of his relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.

In February, the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office after newly-released information in the Epstein files indicated that he may have passed on sensitive trade information while in post as Trade Envoy.

He continues to deny any wrongdoing.