Queen's final sacrifice: Late monarch's decision to strip Prince Andrew of his HRH title 'showed she put nation first'
20 April 2023, 09:41 | Updated: 21 April 2023, 14:53
The late Queen's decision to strip Prince Andrew of his HRH title showed a final sacrifice as she put the nation before her own feelings, a new documentary has claimed.
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The late monarch, who died in September last year, made the decision in January 2022 after Prince Andrew was accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexual abuse relating to his associations with Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew always denied the allegations.
In episode five of Inside the House of Windsor, set to air on Thursday on ITVX, explores the Queen's loyalty to her second-eldest son despite the allegations.
Read More: Prince Harry 'never heard from King Charles' about his invitation to the Coronation
The episode, titled Heirs and Spares, notes how the late monarch stuck by Andrew as the public turned against him following a car crash interview.
However, following the civil lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Guiffre, she finally decided to remove his HRH titles.
Read more: Prince Harry to skip King Charles' coronation concert to 'rush home to Meghan and their children'
The show highlights how she battled with her loyalty to her son versus her desire to keep the British monarchy afloat.
A voiceover says: "Harry has left the country and builds a new life in America.
"And now, the Queen has stripped Andrew of his HRH title. A final gesture of self-sacrifice."
The episode also looks at Prince Harry's strained relationship with his family as well as his time in Afghanistan, in which it is suggested he was able to create a family of his own with his fellow comrades.
The programme follows events within the family in chronological order until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down as working royals and move to the US in 2020.
The late Queen had been forced to make tough decisions about her grandson's position in the royal family in the last years of her life too.
Both Andrew and Harry will not have active roles in the King's upcoming coronation, with the pair barred from appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the ceremony as the are no longer working royals.
They have also both been evicted from their royal estates since Charles took over.
Andrew is understood to have been forced to move out of his 30-room royal lodge after Charles cut his £249,000 annual allowance.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan were asked to move out of Frogmore Cottage following the release of his tell-all memoir Spare.
Andrew has been offered their home in a scale down from his mansion, it is believed.
